Emergency messaging system and method of responding to an emergency

ABSTRACT

An emergency response computer system is used in operative communication with mobile computing devices for a set of device users to automatically coordinate emergency responders. The system can produce a report for emergency responders that identifies the locations of mobile computing devices, and the report can be helpful in identifying the locations of people and evacuating them when there is a mass emergency. The system can evaluate the content of emergency messages as well as proximity of the locations of the mobile computing devices that sent the emergency messages and the timing of the emergency messages to determine whether a mass emergency event is occurring and the appropriate level and type of emergency responders (police, fire, and/or medical). The system can identify and connect with video cameras throughout the geographic area that is covered by the system&#39;s emergency responders.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/865,245 filed on Jan. 8, 2018 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/369,147 filed on Jun. 26, 2014 and issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 9,867,023 on Jan. 9, 2018 which is a national phaseapplication of PCT Application No. US2012/064514 filed on Nov. 9, 2012and which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos.61/558,312, 61/558,301, and 61/594,648, filed on Nov. 10, 2011, Nov. 10,2011, and Feb. 3, 2012, respectively, and all of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable.

APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to emergency response services (EMS)systems and methods, and relates more particularly to EMS computersystems and methods of responding to an emergency.

Related Art

Telecommunication services, particularly remote computing devices, areessential public safety tools. During emergencies, remote computingdevices are indispensable for contacting the appropriate response units(e.g., police or fire) or authorities, and for distributing of emergencymessages. Accordingly, a need or potential for benefit exists for animproved emergency messaging system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An emergency response computer system is used in operative communicationwith mobile computing devices for a set of device users to automaticallycoordinate emergency responders. In one aspect of the invention, thesystem produces a report for emergency responders to identify thelocations of mobile computing devices; the report can be helpful inidentifying the locations of people and evacuating them when there is amass emergency. In another aspect of the invention, the system evaluatesthe content of emergency messages as well as proximity of the locationsof the mobile computing devices that sent the emergency messages and thetiming of the emergency messages to determine whether a mass emergencyevent is occurring and the appropriate level and type of emergencyresponders (police, fire, and/or medical). In yet another aspect of theinvention, the system identifies and connects with video camerasthroughout the geographic area that is covered by the system's emergencyresponders.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figuresillustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions anddetails of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in thedrawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggeratedrelative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodimentsof the present invention. The same reference numerals in differentfigures denote the same elements.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in thedescription and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishingbetween similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particularsequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the termsso used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such thatthe embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operationin sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variationsthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises alist of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but mayinclude other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process,method, system, article, device, or apparatus.

The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “couples,” “coupling,” and the likeshould be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or moreelements or signals, electrically, mechanically and/or otherwise. Two ormore electrical elements may be electrically coupled but not bemechanically or otherwise coupled; two or more mechanical elements maybe mechanically coupled, but not be electrically or otherwise coupled;two or more electrical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not beelectrically or otherwise coupled. Coupling may be for any length oftime, e.g., permanent or semi-permanent or only for an instant.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an emergency messaging system,according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart for an embodiment of a method ofresponding to an emergency, according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of processing two or more emergency trigger messages, accordingto the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of acquiring current location information, according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of notifying first and second level response units, accordingto the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of determining the appropriate response, according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of sending the first emergency alert message, according to thefirst embodiment.

FIGS. 8-14 illustrate exemplary examples of map interfaces of thecomputer system of FIG. 1, according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of monitoring telephone communications, according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an emergency messaging system,according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 17 illustrates a flow chart for an embodiment of a method ofresponding to an emergency, according to the second embodiment.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate an example of a map of a geographicassociation of locations and emergency response units, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 19 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of processing the emergency trigger messages, according to thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 20 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of anactivity of determining whether auxiliary information about theemergency location exists, according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 illustrates a computer that is suitable for implementing anembodiment of emergency messaging system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 22 illustrates a representative block diagram of an example of theelements included in the circuit boards inside chassis of the computerof FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 illustrates a UI display with optimized location.

FIGS. 24A and 24B illustrate updated emergency numbers in a new country.

FIGS. 25A and 25B illustrate additional emergency and non-emergencynumbers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses. Some embodiments teach a method of respondingto an emergency using an emergency response computer system. Theemergency response computer system having a processing unit and anemergency response module is networked communication with public-safetyanswering point (PSAP) computers. Accordingly, in the preferredembodiment of the invention, the emergency response computer systemoperates as a cloud computing environment which is accessed by the PSAPcomputers through an online browser application. It will be appreciatedthat the emergency response computer system could run on resident PSAPcomputers although this is not the preferred operating environment.Generally, the emergency response computer system is hosted in the cloudand is accessed by the PSAP computers through a web browser interface.

The method including: receiving in the emergency response module one ormore emergency trigger messages from one or more remote computingdevices, the emergency response module running on the processing unit;using the emergency response module to process the one or more emergencytrigger messages to determine an emergency level, using the emergencyresponse module to process the one or more emergency trigger messagesincluding: determining locations of at least a portion of the one ormore remote computing devices; analyzing the one or more emergencytrigger messages to determine a content of the one or more emergencytrigger messages; determining a level of response to the one or moreemergency trigger messages based upon the locations of the at least theportion of the one or more remote computing devices and the content ofthe one or more emergency trigger messages, the levels of responsecomprise a first level response and a second level response; using thelocations of the at least the portion of the one or more remotecomputing devices to determine a first response unit to notify; usingthe locations of the at least the portion of the one or more remotecomputing devices to determine a second response unit to notify if thelevel of response is the second level of response; using the emergencyresponse module to notify the first response unit if the level ofresponse is the first level of response or the second level of response;using the emergency response module to notify the second level responseunit if the level of response is the second level of response; receivingin the emergency response module instructions from the second levelresponse unit to notify a target group if the level of response is thesecond level of response; and using the emergency response module tosend a first emergency alert message to the target group if the level ofresponse is the second level of response.

Further embodiments concern a method of responding to an emergency usinga mobile computing device. The mobile computing device can have a firstprocessor and an emergency module. The method can include: receiving afirst emergency trigger message in the emergency module from a user ofthe mobile computing device, the emergency module running on the firstprocessor; sending a second emergency trigger message to an emergencyresponse computer system using the emergency module; sending locationinformation to the emergency response computer system using theemergency module; receiving in the emergency module a request forupdated location information from the emergency response computersystem; sending updated location information to the emergency responsecomputing system using the emergency module; and receiving in theemergency module a mass emergency message from the emergency responsecomputer system.

In other embodiments, an emergency messaging system can be configured tobe used with three or more first computing devices. The emergencymessaging system can include: (a) a device communications moduleconfigured to run on a first processor and further configured tocommunicate with two or more sending computing devices, the devicecommunications module further configured to receive two or moreemergency trigger messages from one or more users via the two or moresending computing devices; (b) a processing module configured to run onthe first processor and further configured to process the two or moreemergency trigger messages to determine an emergency level, theprocessing module can have: (1) a location module configured todetermine a location of at least a first portion of the three or morefirst computing devices; (2) an analyzing module configured to analyzethe two or more emergency trigger messages to determine a content of thetwo or more emergency trigger messages; (3) a response module configuredto determine a level of response to the two or more emergency triggermessages based upon a location of the two or more sending computingdevices and the content of the two or more emergency trigger messages,the levels of response comprise a first level response and a secondlevel response; (4) a determination module configured to use thelocation of at least a second portion of the two or more sendingcomputing devices to determine an appropriate first response unit tonotify and an appropriate second response unit to notify; and (5) anotification module configured to run on the first processor and furtherconfigured to notify the appropriate first response unit and theappropriate second level response unit. In some examples, the three ormore first computing devices comprise the two or more sending computingdevices.

Various embodiments can concern method of providing messaging service toone or more users of one or mobile computing devices. The method caninclude: facilitating a use of a first mobile computing device to send afirst trigger message, facilitating the use of the first mobilecomputing device to send the first trigger message can include:receiving a location of the first mobile computing device from a globalpositioning module, the global positioning module running on the firstmobile computing device; receiving a first trigger message from a userof the first computing device; and wirelessly transmitting the firsttrigger message and the location of the first mobile computing device toa response module running on at least one second processor of a firstserver; receiving the first trigger message in response module;determining a first response unit associated with the first location ofthe first mobile computing device; and transmitting the first triggermessage to the first response unit associated with the location of thefirst mobile computing device. The one or more users of the one or moremobile computing device comprise the first user. The one or more mobilecomputing device comprises the first mobile computing device.

Still other embodiments can concern an emergency messaging systemconfigured to be used with the two or more mobile computing devices. Theemergency messaging system can include: a device communications moduleconfigured to run on at least one first processor and further configuredto communicate with the two or more mobile computing devices, the devicecommunications module further configured to receive a first emergencytrigger message from a user of a first one of the two or more mobilecomputing devices, the first trigger message comprises a location of thefirst one of the two or more mobile computing devices; a determinationmodule configured to run on the at least one first processor and furtherconfigured to use the location of the first one of the two or moremobile computing devices to determine an appropriate emergency responseunit to notify; and a notification module configured to run on the atleast one first processor and further configured to notify theappropriate emergency response unit of the first trigger message.

Various embodiments concern a method for emergency messaging to a targetgroup where the target group comprises two or more users. The method caninclude: receiving from the two or more using information regarding aportable communication device from each of the two or more users;storing in one or more databases a profile for the portablecommunication devices associated with each of the two or more users;selecting a geographic area for emergency messaging; receiving currentlocation information from at least a first user of the two or moreusers; processing the current location information to identify one ormore affected devices, the one or more affected devices comprise theportable communication devices of the two or more users within aselected geographic area; and transmitting an emergency message to theone or more affected devices to alert users of the one or more affecteddevices to an emergency in the selected geographic area.

In some embodiments, a method for emergency messaging to a target groupbased in part on current location information derived from portablecommunication devices associated with individuals of the target group isprovided. The method can include: receiving from the two or more usinginformation regarding a portable communication device from each of thetwo or more users; storing in one or more databases a profile for theportable communication devices associated with each of the two or moreusers; selecting a geographic area for emergency messaging; receivingcurrent location information from the portable communication devices,and communicating the current location information to the emergencymessaging services system; and evaluating the current locationinformation and opening one-way and/or two-way emergency messagingcommunication between the emergency messaging services system and theportable communication devices within the selected geographic area.

Various embodiments can concern a system for emergency messaging to atarget group based in part on current location information derived fromportable communication devices associated with individuals of the targetgroup. The system generally can include: an emergency response computersystem having an emergency response module. The emergency responsemodule is configured to evaluate current location information derivedfrom portable communication devices associated with individuals of thetarget group and open one-way and/or two-way emergency messagingcommunication between the emergency response computer system and theportable communication devices identified as within a selectedgeographic area; and one or more databases for storing profiles for aportable communication device associated with each individual of atarget group, wherein the one or more databases is in communication withthe emergency response module.

Various embodiment concern a method for emergency messaging to a targetgroup. The target group comprises two or more users. The method caninclude receiving from the two or more users information regarding aportable communication device from each of the two or more users;storing in one or more databases a profile for the portablecommunication devices associated with each of the two or more users;selecting a first geographic area for emergency messaging; receivingcurrent location information from at least a first user of the two ormore users; processing the current location information to identify oneor more affected devices, the one or more affect devices comprise theportable communication devices of the two or more users that are withinthe first geographic area; and transmitting an emergency message to theone or more affected devices to alert users of the one or more affecteddevices to an emergency in the first geographic area.

In many embodiments, an emergency response module interfaces with aremote computing device that will call a specified emergency responderbased on the caller's location. The outgoing call can be customized toconnect to the appropriate emergency service. For travelers in foreigncountries, the embodiment can give the option to connect with Englishspeaking emergency assistance. In addition, the subscriber can receiveimmediate notification of the caller's location and contact informationto enhance response capability and reporting.

Some embodiments can be considered to be an advisory distributionservice which sends information about dangerous weather, crime andpolitical unrest to people in the affected location, and people withplans to travel there, simultaneously reporting to the subscriber onaffected members of the community. Sources of advisory information wouldinclude, but not be limited to: US State Department, National WeatherService, European Weather, Centers for Disease Control (CDC),Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and third party providers.

Numerous embodiments concern an emergency communications module with aremote computing device that directs communication to the appropriateservice providers for travel, medical care, ticket sales, social, andother services. The emergency communications module recognizes differentusers and connects to the correct provider, allowing different providersfor different population segments and/or for calls made from differentlocations.

The same or different embodiments concern an emergency communicationsmodule with a remote computing device that provides directory based textor instant messaging based on a tiered system that controls access andgroup messaging through assigned tier groups. Messaging ispermission-based by tier and has built-in abuse controls that can becustomized. The emergency communications module with a remote computingdevice allows groups built to simplify communication for classes, clubsand committees, while safeguards keep group messaging from becoming aproblem. Top down hierarchy allows management tier users to message anyindividual, group of users, or the entire community, while rank and fileusers have limited access to group and individual messaging. It will beappreciated that the group messaging is helpful to connect emergencyresponders with the users that require assistance and to connectemergency responders with each other in coordinating their efforts.Also, as explained in detail below, the group messaging functionalitycombined with the sharing of user profile information between the usermobile computing device and the emergency response computer system canbe particularly beneficial to persons who are deaf, hearing impaired, orspeech impaired.

Another aspect of the embodiments relates to an interface with a remotecomputing device to provide a virtual tour guide on the device that willallow users to take a tour complete with directions, instructions andtour explanations. The interface with a remote computing device willalso provide directions to anywhere on subscriber's campus from a user'scurrent location. The interface with a remote computing device can beloaded with user profile information to provide directions to get toclasses or meetings.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to an interface with a remotecomputing device which places advertising, news or other print and/orvideo content onto the interface with a remote computing device.Advertising/messaging can be triggered by user location, and thedatabase can record “views” by users.

Turning to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates block diagram of anemergency messaging system 100, according to a first embodiment.Emergency messaging system 100 is merely exemplary and is not limited tothe embodiments presented herein. Emergency messaging system 100 can beemployed in many different embodiments or examples not specificallydepicted or described herein.

Emergency messaging system 100 can provide emergency voice and/ormessaging services in many different services (e.g., text, email, voice,text to voice, etc.). Generally, emergency response services can beestablished with a target group of individuals within a selectedgeographic area. In certain embodiments, emergency messaging system 100can be provided to a target group based in part on current locationinformation derived from remote computing devices associated withindividuals of the target group. The target group may be all individualsphysically located within a specific geographic location (e.g., a zipcode, a city, a county, a state, a university or college campus, worklocation, office building, airport, public space, or a region served bya specific emergency response group), all individuals registered to belocated at a specific geographic location (e.g., all students, faculty,staff, etc. at a university or college campus; all workers at a worklocation or office building; all users of a public space, all residentsof a region, all people with a cell phone having a particular areacode), all individuals purchasing admission to a designated event, etc.

Emergency messaging system 100 can provide one-way and/or two-waycommunication between users, administrators of emergency messagingsystem 100, and emergency response units. In certain aspects, emergencymessaging system 100 can receive communications of users and record,log, and/or otherwise utilize these communications to manage a potentialemergency situation. Emergency trigger messages from users can bereceived via phone, email, text, text to voice, etc. The message may bereceived through a specialized application on the user's remotecomputing device, or can be provided by emergency services to thesubscriber administrator. Once an emergency message is received from auser, the message may be populated into databases of emergency messagingsystem 100, and the message can be analyzed for a potential emergencysituation.

By way of non-limiting example, message receipt and processing can occuras follows: a user activates an emergency communication module on aremote computing device and provides a text, voice-based emergencymessage, and/or email or phone message; an emergency communicationsmodule obtains location information for the user and sends messagecontent and location information; an emergency response module receivesa “911 call initiated notice message” that can include: unique user ID,user name from profile, user location, time, date, call path, time toprocess call; the 911 call initiated notice message is transmitted to asystem administrator contact; the 911 call initiated notice message isrecorded into an event log; the emergency response module notes themessage time to a mass event timer for an event time check; theemergency response module populates the message to database(s) foranalysis of a potential emergency situation. The emergency message canalso be forwarded to the appropriate emergency response unit.

In certain aspects, the emergency response module also tracks and logsthe time required to deliver messages, delivery confirmations andinterval, as well as delivery system used. The emergency response modulealso can send a delivery report with this information to the emergencymessage log, and send it via email to the response unit's emaildesignated for delivery of emergency messages. The emergency responsemodule also can send a copy of the report to the system administrator.

Referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, emergency messaging system 100(i.e., an messaging system) can include: (a) a response computer system101; (b) two or more remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104; (c) oneor more first level response units 105; and (d) one or more second levelresponse units 106. In some examples, response computer system 101,remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104, first level response units105, and second level response units 106 can be configured tocommunicate using communications network 108.

In the same or different embodiments, emergency messaging system 100 caninclude: (a) an emergency response module 150 (i.e., a response module)configured to run on processing unit 161 of emergency response computersystem 101; (b) an emergency communications module 110 configured to runon processing unit 121 of remote computing device 102; (c) an emergencycommunications module 143 configured to run on a processing unit ofremote computing device 103; and (d) an emergency communications module144 configured to run on a processing unit of remote computing device104.

Emergency response computer system 101 can include: (a) at least oneprocessing unit 161; (b) emergency response module 150 configured to runon processing unit 161; (c) a storage device 162; and (d) an operatingsystem 165 configured to run on processing unit 161. In manyembodiments, emergency response module 150 can include: (a) a devicecommunications module 151; (b) a processing module 152; (c) an alertreception module 153; (d) a response module 154; (e) a notificationmodule 155; (f) a determination module 156; (g) an administration module157; and (h) a user location update module 159.

In some examples, remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104 can besmart devices configured to execute one or more software programs. Forexample, each of remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104 can be aniPhone® or iPad® device manufactured by Apple Computers, Inc. ofCupertino, Calif., a Blackberry® device, manufactured or licensed byResearch in Motion Limited, or a smart device running the Android™operating system of Google, Inc., and/or a Palm® device manufactured orlicensed by Palm, Inc. The software program can run in the foreground asan application, in the background with the operating system, or therecan be a partial operating system integration.

Remote computing device 102 can include: (a) at least one processingunit 121; (b) emergency communications module 110 configured to run onprocessing unit 121; (c) a storage device 122; (d) an operating system124 configured to run on processing unit 121; and (e) a user controlmodule 123. In various embodiments, emergency communications module 110can include: (a) an emergency sending module 111; (b) a monitoringsystem 112; and (c) a location determination module 113. In someexamples, emergency communications modules 143 and 144 can be similar oridentical to emergency communications module 110. In the same ordifferent embodiment, remote computing devices 103 and 104 can besimilar or identical to remote computing device 102.

First level response units 105 can be emergency response unit(s). Firstlevel response units 105 can include local police departments, firedepartments, ambulance services, and local emergency response teams. Forexample, on a university campus, first level response units 105 can bethe university police department.

Second level response units 106 can be one or more people or groups thatare responsible for making decisions regarding distribution ofinformation about an emergency. Second level response units 106 caninclude local or state government officials, local police or firechiefs, local and state government disaster agencies, or otherofficials. For example, on a university campus, second level responseunits 106 can include the chief of the university police department, theuniversity president, and/or other members of the administration of theuniversity. In some examples, response computer system 101 can storelists of the appropriate first and second level response units forpredetermined areas in storage device 162.

Communications network 108 can be a combination of wired and wirelessnetworks. For example, communications network 108 can include theInternet, local wireless or wired computer networks (e.g. a 4G (fourthgeneration) cellular network), local area network, cellular telephonenetworks, and the like.

Display 131 of user control module 123 can be configured to display oneor more windows, messages, icons, or other objects associated withemergency communications module 110. Display 131 can be an LCD (liquidcrystal display), plasma, cathode ray tube, or another type of display.

Input device 132 of user control module 123 can be configured to allow auser to enter information into remote computing device 102 related toemergency communications module 110. For example, input device 132 caninclude buttons, a keyboard, a touchpad (separate from or integratedinto display 131), microphone, mouse, trackball, or other inputmechanisms. In some embodiments, display 131 and input device 132 aremerged into the same component such as a touch screen.

Location determination module 113 can be configured to run on processingunit 121 and also can be configured to determine the location of remotecomputing device 102 and to communicate the location information toemergency sending module 111. In one example, remote computing deviceincludes or is coupled to a GPS (global positioning satellite) receiver.Location determination module 113 can receive the location informationfrom the GPS receiver in this example. In some examples, a GPS receivercan receive electrical signals from GPS satellites and use theseelectrical signals to calculate the location of remote computing device102.

In the same or other embodiments, other methods can be used to determinethe location of remote computing device 102. For example, remotecomputing device 102 can include a wireless networking device, andsignals from and locations of the transmitters, routers, and othercommunications devices in communications network 108 can be used tocalculate the current location of remote computing device 102.

Emergency sending module 111 can be configured to run on processing unit121 and also can be configured to send an emergency trigger message andthe location information to device communications module 151. In someexamples, emergency sending module 111 can also receive communicationsfrom emergency response computer system 101.

Monitoring module 112 can be configured to run on processing unit 121and further configured to monitor remote computing device 102 todetermine if any telephone calls have been made to an emergencytelephone number. In one example, monitoring module 112 can periodicallycheck (e.g., one, five, ten, or thirty minutes) information stored instorage device 122 (e.g., telephone logs) to determine if any telephonecalls have been made to an emergency telephone number. In otherexamples, monitoring module 112 can monitor in real time all outgoingtelephone calls to determine if the telephone call is to an emergencynumber.

In some examples, if monitoring module 112 determines that a telephonecall has been made to an emergency number, monitoring module 112 cannotify emergency sending module 111 that an emergency call was made andthe time of the emergency telephone call. Emergency sending module 111can notify device communications module 151 of the emergency telephonecall. In some examples, the notification of the emergency telephone callcan be an emergency trigger message.

Device communications module 151 can be configured to run on processingunit 161 and also can be configured to communicate with remote computingdevices 102, 103, and 104 using communications network 108. Devicecommunications module 151 can be configured to receive emergency triggermessages from one or more users via remote computing devices 102, 103,and 104. In some examples, the emergency trigger messages can be textmessages, and device communications module 151 can be configured toreceive the emergency text messages from remote computing devices 102,103, and 104. In various embodiments, device communications module 151can send messages to remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104.

Such a communications interface can be any suitable form of wired orwireless connection including, but not limited to, USB (universal serialbus) connection, serial connection, cellular communication, IEEE 802.11,etc. This communications interface may also be multi-channel in someembodiments. For example, if the communications interface is implementedusing cellular communications, device communications module 151 can beable to reroute communications from a cell tower that is, for somereason, unavailable to another functioning cell tower.

Alert reception module 153 can be configured to receive event or alertnotifications from one or more third party sources. For example, alertreception module 153 can be configured to receive event or alertnotifications from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),the U.S. State Department (State Department), the U.S. Geological Survey(USGS), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA). In some examples, alert reception module 153 cancommunicate the notifications to processing module 152. The notificationcan be considered an emergency trigger message in some examples.

User location update module 159 can be configured to run on processingunit 161 and can be further configured to perform user locationidentification updates. In many embodiments, emergency response module150 can utilize user (i.e., target group individual) current locationinformation to facilitate the response to an emergency. In someembodiments, user location update module 159 can obtain current locationinformation of users and translate the information into a more usableformat. For instance, GPS or location coordinate information may betranslated into Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), and the GPS,location coordinate information and/or MGRS can be stored in userprofiles (along with time/date stamps) in a database of storage device162.

By way of non-limiting example, user location update module 159 locationtranslation may occur as follows: location determination module 113initiates GPS determination in remote computing device 102 via emergencycommunications module 110; emergency communications module 110 transmitsGPS location information to device communications module 151; userlocation update module 159 updates the user profile stored in a databaseof storage device 162 with GPS location information. User locationupdate module 159 also translates GPS location information into a cityand country and populates current city and country into user profile. Insome examples, user location update module translates GPS locationinformation into Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) rubric andpopulates current MGRS location into user profile.

User location update module 159 can determine current locationinformation for users at predefined time intervals (e.g., every 15minutes, every 30 minutes, every 1 hour, every 2 hours, every 4 hours,every 12 hours, every 24 hours, etc.) or on-demand. For example, asystem administrator can update the location information for all usersor a subset of users when an emergency occurs. User profiles in storagedevice 162 can be updated to include current location information on areal-time basis, so as to only include the most current locationinformation, or user profiles may be updated to include a history oflocation information (e.g., to include the last, e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20,25, etc., locations, and/or to include 1 day, 2, days, 3 days, 4 days, 5days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 4months, 5 months, 6 months, etc., worth of location information).

In some examples, user location update module 159 can update userlocations on-demand as follows: a system administrator of emergencyresponse computer system 101 logs into the emergency response computersystem and opens user location update module 159; user location updatemodule 159 includes a “Select User” function; and the systemadministrator selects the users from a recipient rules list for GPSupdate, which forces a GPS update to all selected EMS users.

Processing module 152 can be configured to run on processing unit 161and also can be configured to process one or more emergency triggermessages to determine an emergency level. In some examples, processingmodule can include: (a) a location module 164; and (b) an analyzingmodule 163.

Location module 164 can be configured to run on processing unit 161 andalso can be configured to determine a location of remote computingdevices 102, 103, and 104. In some examples, location module 164 caninstruct device communications module 151 to have remote computingdevice 102, 103, and 104 send their current locations to emergencyresponse module 150. In the same or different examples, location module164 can retrieve the locations of one or more of remote computingdevices 102, 103, and 104 from a database in storage device 162. Afterlocation module 164 determines the locations of one or more of computingdevices 102, 103, and 104, location module 164 can store the receivedlocations in a database of storage device 162.

Analyzing module 163 can be configured to run on processing unit 161 andalso can be configured to analyze the emergency trigger messages todetermine a content of the emergency trigger messages. In some examples,analyzing module 163 is configured to analyze two or more emergencytrigger messages to determine if the emergency trigger messages containone or more predetermined trigger words. The predetermined trigger wordscan be word or phrases that indicate that a high-risk emergency isoccurring or has occurred. For example, the predetermined trigger wordscan include homicide, murder, slaughter, rape, assault, arson, fire,weapon, gun, shoot, shooting, rifle, pistol, kill, handgun, bomb,explosion, gas, flood, earthquake, rob, steal, burglar, burglary, stolencar, stole car, stole my car, drug, cocaine, marijuana, and/or heroin.

In other examples, the emergency trigger message can be a soundrecording. For example, the emergency trigger message can be a recordingof a telephone call to an emergency response number (e.g., a 911 call).In this example, analyzing module 163 can automatically transcribe thetelephone call into text and determine if the telephone call includedany of the predetermined trigger words.

Response module 154 can be configured to run on processing unit 161 andalso can be configured to determine a level of response to the two ormore emergency trigger messages based upon the location of remotecomputing devices sending the emergency trigger messages and the contentof the emergency trigger messages.

In some examples, response module 154 can determine the appropriatepotential level of response to the emergency trigger messages based atleast partially upon the frequency and content of the emergency triggermessages and location of the sending of the emergency trigger messages.In one example, the levels of response include a first (lower) levelresponse and a second (higher) level response. After response module 154determines the level of response, the level of response and theunderlying information is communicated to determination module 156.

Determination module 156 is configured to run on processing unit 161 andalso can be configured to use the location of the two or more emergencytrigger messages to communicate with notification module 155 anddetermine which (if any) of first level response units 105 and secondlevel response units 106 to notify.

Notification module 155 can be configured to run on processing unit 161and also can be configured to notify the appropriate first responseunits and second level response units of the emergency.

Analyzing module 163 in combination with response module 154,determination module 156, and notification module 155 can analyze theincoming emergency trigger messages to determine if a triggering massevent has occurred based on content, volume, and/or timing of emergencycommunication and respond appropriately. By way of non-limiting example,analyzing module 163 in combination with response module 154 anddetermination module 156 analyzes content, time and frequency of messageevents, including 911 calls and emergency trigger messages from users;in the event the number of message events meets a predefined triggerthreshold within a number of minutes specified, a mass event warning isinitiated; notification module 155 creates a mass event warning message,including, e.g., information from the messages that triggered the masswarning event: user name, ID, location, message or call time, type ofmessage (911 call or emergency response messaging system message), and,for example, message content: “[Subscriber Name] MASS EVENT WARNING HASBEEN TRIGGERED BY RECEIPT OF [Number of Message Events from Mass EventSchedule] SUBMITTED TO THE SYSTEM IN [Mass Event Time From Mass EventSchedule] OR FEWER MINUTES. TRIGGER MESSAGES ARE ATTACHED TO THISCOMMUNICATION. RECOMMEND YOU BEGIN MONITORING THE INGRESS EMERGENCYMESSAGE PORTAL AVAILABLE AT [URL for Subscriber EMS Portal].”

Notification module 155 can enter mass event warning message into asubscriber's message log in a database of storage device 162 andtransmits subscriber emails designated for receipt of emergencymessages. Notification module 155 can capture data for report generationto first level response units 105 and/or second level response units106. Response module 154 can send a request to user location updatemodule 159 to initiate an all users (or a subset of users) updatelocation request.

In the same or different embodiment, the analyzing module 163 cananalyze messages for potential mass events based on content, e.g.,particular trigger words in received emergency messages. Likewise,analyzing module 163 be configured to determine if an emergency event isoccurring that requires reporting based on reporting requirements of TheJeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus CrimeStatistics Act. By way of non-limiting example, analyzing module 163 cananalyze messages as follows: analyzing module 163 analyzes incomingemergency messages for trigger words that suggest a Clery reportingrequirement incident may have occurred; in the event that the word(s)from the Clery event trigger list are found in an incoming emergencytrigger message, a Clery Event message can be initiated by notificationmodule 155; notification module 155 can create a Clery Event messagethat includes, e.g., information from the messages that triggered themessage including: user name, ID, location, message or call time, andmessage content, for example: “[Subscriber Name] CLERY EVENT WARNING HASBEEN TRIGGERED BY RECEIPT OF AN EMERGENCY MESSAGE SUBMITTED TO THESYSTEM THAT INCLUDES THE WORDS [trigger words from message]. TRIGGERMESSAGE IS ATTACHED TO THIS COMMUNICATION. MESSAGE HAS ALSO BEEN SENT TOCLERY MESSAGE EMAIL ADDRESS [Subscriber Clery email Address]”; CleryEvent Warning Message is entered into subscriber Clery message log in adatabase in storage device 162 and transmitted to second level responseunits designated for receipt of Clery messages; and data is captured forreport generation.

Administration module 157 can be configured to run on processing unit161 and further configured to be used by a system administrator toadminister and control emergency response module 150. For example, asystem administrator using administration module 157 can create a userintroduction/set-up to provide an instructional “welcome” message toprovide to users of remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104,providing details to a new user of what emergency messaging system 100does and when it should be used. Messages may have a default text, ormay be edited by the system administrator. In certain embodiments, thewelcome message may be sent to all users/individuals of a target groupupon joining of the group (e.g., orientation at a university, workplace,etc.).

Furthermore, system administrator using administration module 157 canperform general set-up and configuration functions. By way ofnon-limiting example, a system administrator can create a userintroduction/set-up using administration module 157 as follows: a systemadministrator logs onto administration module 157 and entersconfiguration page; the system administrator enters page for entry ofsystem user advice; the system administrator edits/writes user messagedetailing use of system interface; the system administrator hits “SaveChanges” to enter new message into the administration module 157;administration module 157 saves change to change log with a copy of theprevious message, a copy of the new message, user information for thesystem administrator making the change, date, and time; users of remotecomputing devices 102, 103, and/or 104 receive a system use notice uponinitial interface with emergency messaging system service as pushmessage and optional redundant email. An exemplary message may read asfollows:

[Subscriber Name] EMERGENCY MESSAGE SYSTEM:

[Subscriber Name] has subscribed to the emergency messaging system.Through the use of the Emergency Message button on the [Subscriber Name]App, you can send a message to law enforcement and [Subscriber Name] inthe event of an emergency, to request assistance or to report a crime.The emergency messaging system will provide your information to lawenforcement to expedite a response. Use the emergency messaging systemas you would calling 911 from a regular phone.

Administration module 157 can also be configured to provide the systemadministrator the ability to designate mass event trigger words. By wayof non-limiting example, a system administrator can create mass eventtrigger words as follows: a system administrator logs intoadministration module 157 and enters configuration page; the systemadministrator enters page for entry of system mass event trigger list;the system administrator edits/writes Trigger List as desired; thesystem administrator hits “Save Changes” button when complete; theadministration module 157 saves change to change log with a copy of theprevious mass event trigger list, a copy of the new mass event triggerlist, user information for the system administrator making the change,date, and time.

Administration module 157 can be further configured to also provide thesystem administrator the ability to designate Clery event trigger words.By way of non-limiting example, a system administrator may create Cleryevent trigger words as follows: the system administrator logs ontoadministration module 157 and enters configuration page; the systemadministrator enters page for entry of emergency system Clery eventtrigger list that is stored in a database of storage device 162; thesystem administrator edits/writes Clery event trigger list; the systemadministrator hits “Save Changes” button when complete; administrationmodule 157 saves change to change log with a copy of the previous Cleryevent trigger list, a copy of the new Clery event trigger list, userinformation for the system administrator making the change, date, andtime.

As described herein, the systems and methods may provide emergencymessaging services in many suitable messaging services (e.g., text,email, voice, text to voice, etc.). Administration module 157 can alsobe configured to provide the ability to the system administrator toreview and order method(s) of message delivery. By way of non-limitingexample, a system administrator may review and order message delivery asfollows: the system administrator logs onto administration module 157and enters configuration page; the system administrator enters page forentry of cascade options, including, e.g., push, SMS, email, text tovoice, etc.; the system administrator may select numbered boxes toindicate order of preference for attempt, lowest to highest with defaultorder, e.g., 1) push, 2) SMS, 3) email, 4) text to voice, etc., with aneditable time interval for attempt of next transmission option withdefault, e.g., of 60 seconds; the system administrator may also checkbox to indicate “always send” with default as email; administrationmodule 157 saves change to change log with a copy of the previousselections, a copy of the new selections, user information for the EMSsystem administrator making the change, date, and time. During anemergency, emergency response module 150 can track send time and receiptof delivery confirmation and cascade if delivery interval is exceeded.

In additional aspects, administration module 157 can be configured toallow a system administrator to establish various scheduling,calendaring and reporting features. For instance, a schedule forestablishing a system administrator for notification of potentialemergency situations can be established, as well as a schedule forautomatic generation of reports (e.g., reports of potential Cleryevents, potential mass events, routine logs of emergency messages,repeat users of the IEMS system, etc.). In addition, administrationmodule 157 can be configured to allow a system administrator to setpredefined thresholds for various system functionalities, e.g., massevent trigger limits such as number of messages within a set time, etc.,and may designate an administrator to monitor and adjust as needed(e.g., based on scheduled upcoming events). Such scheduling functionsmay be compatible with calendaring programs such as Microsoft® Outlook,Google® Calendar, Lotus Notes® Calendar, etc.

Mapping module 158 can be configured to run on processor unit 161 andfurther configured to allow a system administrator, a first levelresponse unit 105, and/or second level response units 106 to access mapsof specific geographic regions and/or structures in these geographicareas. By way of non-limiting example, mapping module 158 includes or isin communication with a display apparatus that comprises a touch screen,for example. Selected areas of the target geographic area (e.g.,selected buildings, floors, parks, zones, etc.) may be “selected” bytouching those areas via the touch screen. Mapping module 158 can loadmaps of all areas within the target geographic area that have beenselected. In various embodiments, the graphical display may include zoomand toggle functions to aid in selection. Zoom features will generallymaintain the same grid system, recalibrating the grid GPS integratedcoordinates to maintain accuracy. In certain embodiments,clicking/selecting the graphical representation and moving the selectionwill move the view field.

To facilitate selection of the geographical area of interest, in certainembodiments, mapping module 158 can provide for the integration oflocation names into the graphical representation of the targetgeographical area via a website or other suitable graphical userinterface may be used. By way of non-limiting example, mapping module158 provides for integration location names as follows: graphicalrepresentations of a target geographical area (e.g., graphical maps) areuploaded into database(s) of storage device 162 and published fordisplay to a display apparatus graphical user interface; the systemadministrator is prompted to give the map a name (e.g. Main Campus),which is saved and populated to a database of storage device 162;mapping module 158 creates an alphanumeric grid over the graphicalrepresentation, and loads geospatial location of target geographicalarea; mapping module 158 translates grid coordinates to GPS coordinatesand associates GPS coordinates within the grid box; mapping module 158can have a “Load Previous Map” function that may load previous builds ofthe same target geographical area into current working map, e.g., forcomparison; mapping module 158 can automatically identify map featuresthat appear to be structures (e.g., based on feature recognitionalgorithms); the system administrator can identify a structure orfeature of the map in several ways, including by clicking on the map toselect a discrete feature, using a draw dialogue, or a drag and selectdialogue, each of which opens a dialogue box for labeling the structureor feature; once the system administrator identifies a structure orfeature and provides a name, mapping module 158 populates the name to alist of locations associated with that map; mapping module 158calculates a coordinate range for the space inside the mapbuilding/feature and associates that coordinate range with that mapbuilding/feature (within a predefined coordinate tolerance range).

In other embodiments, mapping module 158 can be configured to facilitatea manual pin drop location creation mechanism that may be used to createad hoc geographic area selection zones. By way of non-limiting example,if no location names or other groupings adequately define a desiredgeographic area messaging, pin drop location creation may be performedas follows: an subscriber administer may press a “Pin Drop” button onthe graphical interface of mapping module 158, which will initiate auser interface to allow the subscriber administer to drop “pins” in thegeographic area to define a selected area; once three or more pins aredropped and the button is pushed to stop dropping pins, mapping module158 will initiate a dialogue box, prompting for a location name; onceentered, the location name will populate to the locations list;“mousing” or selecting over a pin for the completed pin location willdisplay the location name and give an option to delete the location.

“Response computer system 101,” as used herein, can refer to a singlecomputer, single server, or a cluster or collection of servers.Typically, a cluster or collection of servers can be used when thedemands for processing are beyond the reasonable capability of a singleserver or computer. In many embodiments, the servers in the cluster orcollection of servers are interchangeable from the perspective of remotecomputing device 102, 103, and 104.

In some examples, a single server can include device communicationsmodule 151, processing module 152, alert reception module 153, responsemodule 154, notification module 155, determination module 156,administration module 157, mapping module 158, and user location updatemodule 159. In other examples, a first server can include a firstportion of these modules, and one or more second servers can include asecond, possibly overlapping, portion of these modules. In theseexamples, emergency messaging system 100 can comprise the combination ofthe first server and the one or more second servers.

In some examples, storage device 162 can include one or more databases(e.g., indexes) to store information about incoming emergency triggermessages. All of these databases can be a structured collection ofrecords or data, for instance, which is stored in storage device 162.For example, the databases stored in storage device 162 can be an XML(Extensible Markup Language) database, MySQL, or an Oracle® database. Inthe same or different embodiments, the indexes could consist of asearchable group of individual data files stored in storage device 162.

In many embodiments, a profile for each portable communication deviceassociated with each user can be stored in one or more databases ofstorage device 162. The profile may include information of theindividual associated with the portable communication device, such asname, age, residence, email address, phone number, emergency contactinformation, current location of the user, past locations of the user,links to school/health/employment/etc.

In various embodiments, operating systems 124 and 165 can be softwareprograms that manage the hardware and software resources of a computer,remote computing device, and/or a computer network. Operating systems124 and 165 can perform basic tasks such as, for example, controllingand allocating memory, prioritizing the processing of instructions,controlling input and output devices, facilitating networking, andmanaging files. Examples of common operating systems for a computerinclude Microsoft® Windows, Mac® operating system (OS), UNIX® OS, andLinux® OS. Common operating systems for a mobile device include theiPhone® and iPad® operating system by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.,the Blackberry® operating system by Research In Motion (RIM) ofWaterloo, Ontario, Canada, the Palm® operating system by Palm, Inc. ofSunnyvale, Calif., the Android operating system developed by the OpenHandset Alliance, the Windows® Phone operating system by Microsoft Corp.of Redmond, Wash., or a Symbian operating system by Nokia Corp. ofEspoo, Finland.

As used herein, “processing unit” means any type of computationalcircuit, such as but not limited to a microprocessor, a microcontroller,a controller, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor,a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very longinstruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a graphics processor, a digitalsignal processor, or any other type of processor or processing circuitcapable of performing the desired functions.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart for an embodiment of a method 200 ofresponding to an emergency, according to a first embodiment. Method 200is merely exemplary and is not limited to the embodiments presentedherein. Method 200 can be employed in many different embodiments orexamples not specifically depicted or described herein. In someembodiments, the activities, the procedures, and/or the processes ofmethod 200 can be performed in the order presented. In otherembodiments, the activities, the procedures, and/or the processes ofmethod 200 can be performed in any other suitable order. In still otherembodiments, one or more of the activities, the procedures, and/or theprocesses in method 200 can be combined or skipped.

As described herein, referring back to FIG. 1, the systems of methods ofthe disclosure may include one-way and/or two-way communication betweenusers and system administrators, first level response units 105, and/orsecond level response units 106. In some embodiments, emergency responsemodule 150 can receive communications of users and record, log, and/orotherwise utilize these communications to manage a potential emergencysituation. Emergency trigger messages may be received via phone, email,text, text to voice, etc. The emergency trigger message can be receivedthrough emergency communications module 110 running on processing unit121 of the user's remote computing device, or can be provided byemergency services to the subscriber administrator. Once an emergencymessage is received from a user, the message may be populated indatabases of storage device 162, and the message may be analyzed for apotential emergency situation.

Returning to FIG. 2, method 200 includes an activity 281 of receiving anemergency trigger message from a user of a remote computing device. Insome embodiments, the emergency trigger message is received from a userof the remote computing device using an emergency sending module of anemergency communications module. The emergency communications module andemergency sending module can be running on a processor of the remotecomputing device.

Referring back to FIG. 1, for example, a user can activate emergencycommunications module 110 on remote computing device 102, and emergencysending module 111 can be opened. Emergency sending module 111 canpresent a user of remote computing device 102 a window on display 131into which the user can type the emergency trigger message using inputdevice 132. In some examples, the emergency trigger message is a textmessage, and the user can type the text message into the window ofemergency sending module 111. In other examples, the emergency triggermessage can be a sound recording, and the user can record the emergencytrigger message using input device 132.

Referring again to FIG. 2, method 200 in FIG. 2 continues with anactivity 282 of determining a location of the remote computing device.In some examples, a location determination module of the emergencycommunications module can determine the location of the remote computingdevice.

Referring to FIG. 1, for example, after the user submits the emergencytrigger message, emergency sending module 111 can request the currentlocation of remote computing device 102 from location determinationmodule 113. In other examples, emergency sending module 111 can requestthe current location of remote computing device from locationdetermination module 113 when the user activates emergencycommunications module 110 or when the user begins entering the emergencytrigger message into remote computing device 102. After locationdetermination module 113 determines the location, location determinationmodule 113 can communicate the location to emergency sending module 111.

Referring back to FIG. 2, method 200 includes an activity 283 of sendingthe emergency trigger message to the response computer system. In someexamples, sending the emergency trigger message can include sending anaudio recording or text message with one or more trigger words to theresponse computer system using the emergency module. In other examples,sending the emergency trigger message can include a telephone call to ahuman operator in communication with response computer system 101.

Although emergency calls to emergency dispatchers (also known as 911operators) may not pose any particular hurdle for most people, phonecalls can be a challenge for people who are deaf, hearing impaired, orspeech impaired. Tools have been developed to enable emergency callingfor hearing and speech impaired persons, such as teletypewriters (TTY)and video relay services. TTY is a transcription service that translatesspeech into text, but this service is limited to land lines. Video relayrequires a broadband connection that doesn't work reliably on mobilephones. Therefore, TTY and video relay are mostly limited to the homeand office environments but are unavailable for making emergency callswhenever the person is away from home and work. For the most part,individuals with these disabilities are currently unable to makeemergency calls from mobile phones. As indicated above, the presentinvention allows for group messaging between the user's mobile computingdevice and the emergency response computer system, and the users profileinformation can also be shared so that a dispatch operator will benotified when a hearing or speech impaired person is requestingemergency assistance. No prior PSAP or other emergency response computersystem had incorporated a group messaging feature into the communicationprotocols for the system.

An end user initiates a “call” for emergency services (EmergencyCommunication Event) by initiating a mobile call, text, pushing a panicbutton, or other trigger event that has a location associated with it.For events initiated he system pulls the location from the mobile deviceand associates it with the emergency communication event. The systemassociates the “caller's” (user managed) emergency information profilewith the emergency communication event. The location and profile areautomatically distributed with the emergency communication event to allindividuals/entities in an emergency response work-flow defined by thecommunity based on services available for the location from which theemergency communication event originates (determined by the mobiledevice location) based on proximity, status, hierarchy, event type, etc.The system automatically places the “caller” and each of theindividuals/entities in the emergency response work-flow into a groupmessaging in which each of the participating individuals can see sharedtext based communications from each of the other individuals. Asexplained above, these features of the present invention are beneficialto anyone who is in need of emergency assistance and is also beneficialto the coordination of emergency responders, but the combination offeatures are particularly beneficial to the hearing and speech impairedcommunity because they can use their mobile computing devices tocommunicate an emergency request and can dialogue with the emergencydispatcher and the emergency responders when they are away from theirhomes and workplaces.

Referring to FIG. 1, for example, after the user submits the emergencytrigger message and emergency sending module 111 receives the currentlocation information from location determination module 113, emergencysending module 111 sends the emergency trigger message and the currentlocation information to device communications module 151 overcommunications network 108. In other examples, if emergency sendingmodule 111 does not receive (or location determination module cannotdetermine) the current location information within a predeterminedperiod of time (e.g., 1, 5, 10, or 30 seconds), emergency sending module111 can send the emergency trigger message to device communicationsmodule 151 without the current location information.

Next, method 200 of FIG. 2 includes an activity 284 of receiving two ormore emergency trigger messages from two or more remote computingdevices. In some examples, a response computer system can receiveemergency trigger messages from two or more users via two or more remotecomputing devices. In other examples, activity 284 includes receivingonly one emergency trigger message, and activities 284-292 can beperformed with only one emergency trigger message.

In some examples, receiving the two or more emergency trigger messagescan include receiving one or more text messages from users of the remotecomputing devices. In various embodiments, receiving the two or moreemergency trigger messages further can include receiving an audiorecording. The audio recording can be a recording made by a user of aremote computing device or audio recorded from an emergency call to anemergency system (e.g., a recording of a 911 call). In these examples, adevice communications module can convert the audio recording into text.

In the same or different examples, at least one of the trigger messagescan be an alert message from a third party source. For example, at leastone of the emergency trigger messages can be an event or alertnotifications from FEMA, the State Department, USGS, CDC, NOAA, and/orFDA.

Method 200 in FIG. 2 continues with an activity 285 of processing thetwo or more emergency trigger messages. FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chartfor an exemplary embodiment of activity 285 of processing the emergencytrigger messages, according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, activity 285 includes a procedure 395 of analyzingthe two or more emergency trigger messages. In some examples, as shownin FIG. 1, analyzing module 163 can determine a content of the two ormore emergency trigger messages. For example, analyzing module 163 cananalyze the two or more emergency trigger messages to determine if thetwo or more emergency trigger messages contain one or more predeterminedtrigger words. The predetermined trigger words can be word or phrasesthat indicate that a high-risk emergency is occurring or has occurred.

Referring back to FIG. 3, activity 285 in FIG. 3 continues with aprocedure 396 of determining an origination location of at least part ofthe two or more emergency trigger messages. In some examples, thelocation information was sent to the response computer system as part ofthe emergency trigger message. In other examples, the locationinformation was not provided as part of the emergency triggerinformation. In these examples, referring to FIG. 1, location module 164can contact the remote computing device that sent the emergency triggermessage (e.g., remote computing device 102, 103, or 104) via devicecommunications module 151 and communications network 108. In otherexamples, location module 164 can query storage device 162 to determinethe current or last known location of the remote computing device thatsent the emergency trigger message. In these other examples, remotecomputing devices 102, 103, and 104 can periodically communicate theirlocations to emergency response module 150, which can store theirlocations in storage device 162.

If the emergency trigger message includes one or more of thepredetermined trigger words, analyzing module 163 can communicate theemergency trigger message along with the location of the remotecomputing device, if known, to response module 154. After procedure 396of FIG. 3, activity 285 is complete.

Referring again to FIG. 2, method 200 of FIG. 2 can subsequently includean activity 286 of determining an emergency level. In some examples, theemergency levels can include the first (i.e., lower) level of responseor a second (i.e., higher) level of response. In some examples, thelevel of response to the emergency trigger messages can be determinedbased upon the location of the senders of the two or more emergencytrigger messages and the content of the two or more emergency triggermessages from the senders.

In some examples, determining the level of response can includedetermining if a predetermined number of the two or more emergencytrigger messages include one or more of the predetermined trigger words.In these embodiments, if the predetermined number of messages includethe trigger words, the emergency level is the second level of response;otherwise, the emergency level is the first level of response.

In the same or different examples, determining the level of response caninclude determining if a predetermined number of the two or moreemergency trigger messages included one or more of the predeterminedtrigger words and if the emergency trigger messages including thepredetermined trigger words were sent from locations within apredetermined distance of each other. In these embodiments, if theseconditions are met, the emergency level is the second level of response;otherwise, the emergency level is the first level of response.

In the same or different embodiment, if the emergency trigger message isan event or alert notifications from a third party source, the emergencylevel is the second level of response regardless of the content of themessage or if any other emergency trigger messages were received.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, response module 154 candetermine if a predetermined number of emergency trigger messages havebeen received with one or more of the trigger words within apredetermined time and have been sent from locations within apredetermined distance of each other.

For example, if response computer system 101 received ten trigger alertmessages including the trigger word “gun” and if all ten messages weresent within 500 meters of each other, response module 154 can assign asecond level of response. In another example, if eight trigger messagesinclude the trigger word “fire” and if all eight messages were sent frominside the same building, response module 154 can assign a second levelof response. In still another example, if a trigger message was receivedfrom the U.S. State Department and warned U.S. citizens about travelingto a specific country or region, response module 154 can assign a secondlevel of response. In a further example, if a trigger message from NOAAwith a tornado warning for a predetermined geographic area, responsemodule 154 can assign a second level of response.

On the other hand, if one emergency trigger message is received statingthat a purse theft occurred in a specific building, response module 154can assign the lower first level response to the emergency. In anotherexample, if an emergency message is received with none of the triggerwords, response module 154 can assign the lower first level response tothe emergency.

Referring back to FIG. 2, if the emergency level is a second level ofresponse, method 200 in FIG. 2 continues with an activity 287 ofacquiring current location information. In some examples, currentlocation information can be requested from every remote computing devicethat is part of emergency messaging system 100. In other examples,current location information can be requested from a portion of theremote computing devices that are part of emergency messaging system100. FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment ofactivity 287 of acquiring current location information, according to thefirst embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, activity 287 includes a procedure 495 of requestingupdated location information. In some examples, referring to FIG. 1,location module 164 can communicate to remote computing device 102, 103,or 104 via device communications module 151 and can request updatedlocation information from each of remote computing device 102, 103, or104.

Referring again to FIG. 4, activity 287 in FIG. 4 continues with aprocedure 496 of receiving a request for updated location information.In some examples, emergency communications module 110, 143, and 144(FIG. 1) of remote computing devices 102, 103, 104 (FIG. 1),respectively, can receive the request for the updated locationinformation from device communications module 151 (FIG. 1) viacommunications network 108 (FIG. 1).

Subsequently, activity 287 of FIG. 4 includes a procedure 497 ofdetermining current location information. In some examples, procedure497 can be similar to or the same as activity 282 of FIG. 2.

Next, activity 287 of FIG. 4 includes a procedure 498 of sending updatedlocation information. In some examples, emergency communications modules110, 143, and 144 (FIG. 1) of remote computing devices 102, 103, 104(FIG. 1), respectively, can send the updated location information todevice communications module 151 (FIG. 1) via communications network 108(FIG. 1).

Activity 287 in FIG. 4 continues with a procedure 499 of receiving thelocation information from at least a portion of the two or morecomputing devices. In some examples, referring to FIG. 1, devicecommunications module 151 can receive the location information from atleast a portion of remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104. Devicecommunications module 151 can communicate the location information tolocation module 164, which can store the location information in storagedevice 162.

In many examples, device communications module 151 does not receivecurrent location information from all of remote computing devices 102,103, and 104. One or more of remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104may not provide location information because, for example, the remotecomputing device is turned off, the remote computing device does notinclude a GPS or other location determination sub-system, or the user ofthe remote computing device has disabled the location determinationsub-system. After procedure 499, activity 287 is complete.

Referring back to FIG. 2, method 200 includes an activity 288 ofnotifying appropriate first and second level response units. In someexamples, referring to FIG. 1, response module 154 can instruct devicecommunications module 151 to notify first level response units 105 andsecond level response units 106 of the emergency. FIG. 5 illustrates aflow chart for an exemplary embodiment of activity 288 of notifyingfirst and second level response units, according to the firstembodiment.

In some examples, the emergency response computer system can beintegrated with or in communications with external emergency or securitysystems (e.g., security cameras, fire alarms, emergency lighting).Accordingly, in addition to notifying the first and second levelresponse units, response module 154 (FIG. 1) can communicate theemergency level or other information with these external systems to,e.g., activate the external systems that are near the location of theemergency. In one example, response module 154 (FIG. 1) can communicateto a security monitoring systems in the region around the emergency andthese security monitoring systems can provide the video feeds from videocameras in the area to the emergency response computer system. In someembodiments, emergency response computer system 101 (FIG. 1) can controlthe video cameras. The images or videos from these video cameras can beattached to or embedded in the notifications that are communicated tothe first and second level response units.

Referring to FIG. 5, activity 288 includes a procedure 595 ofdetermining an approximate location of the emergency. In some examples,response module 154 (FIG. 1) can use the location information providedalong with the emergency trigger messages to determine the location ofthe emergency.

Activity 288 in FIG. 5 continues with a procedure 596 of using thelocation of the emergency to determine the appropriate first and secondlevel response units to notify. In some examples, information can bestored in storage device 162 that identifies the appropriate first andsecond level response units to notify if an emergency occurs at aspecific location. In this example, response module 154 (FIG. 1) canaccess the information storage device 162 (FIG. 1) to determine theappropriate first and second level response units to notify of theemergency.

Subsequently, activity 288 of FIG. 5 includes a procedure 597 ofnotifying the appropriate first and second level response units. Forexample, referring to FIG. 1, response module 154 can communicate todevice communications module 151 which first and second level responseunits to notify. Device communications module 151 can notify theappropriate first and second level response units via communicationsnetwork 108. After procedure 597, activity 288 is complete.

Referring again to FIG. 2, method 200 of FIG. 2 further includes anactivity 289 of determining the appropriate response to the emergency.FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of activity289 of determining the appropriate response to the emergency, accordingto the first embodiment

Referring to FIG. 6, activity 289 includes a procedure 695 ofdetermining which remote computing devices are within a certainpredetermined distance of the emergency. For example, referring to FIG.1, determination module 156 can use the location information of at leasta portion of remote computing device 102, 103, and 104 that is stored instorage device 162 to determine which remote computing devices 102, 103,and 104 are within a certain predetermined distance of the emergency.

In one embodiment, mapping module 158 can be used to provide a graphicaldisplay of a target geographic area. Using mapping module 158, thesystem administrator (or first or second level response units 105 and106) can select a geographic area of interest (i.e., as shown in FIGS.8-14, by way of example, a subset of the target geographic area—aselection of buildings of a university campus, designatedquadrants/regions of a target geographic area, a select number of floorsof an office building, etc.) from the graphical display of the targetgeographic area.

Activity 289 further includes a procedure 696 of determining one or moretarget groups to send an emergency alert. In some examples, the secondlevel response unit determines: (1) if one or more emergency alertsshould be sent; and (2) to whom to send the emergency alerts. In someexamples, the second level response unit can decide to send theemergency alert to all of the users of the emergency messaging system ora sub-group of all of the users of the emergency messaging system.

For example, the second level response unit can determine to send afirst emergency alert message to a first portion of the two or moreremote computing devices that are within a first predetermined distanceof the emergency and send a second emergency alert message to a secondportion of the two or more remote computing devices that are within asecond predetermined distance of the emergency. The second levelresponse unit can input into the determination module instructionsregarding which target groups to send an emergency alert. Thedetermination module can communicate this information to thenotification module.

In certain aspects, notification module 155 (and/or devicecommunications module 151) can provide graphical interface messaging. Incertain embodiments, a system administrator can use notification module155 to send emergency messages to individuals of a target group within aspecified geographic area by selecting a geographic area of interestfrom a graphical representation of a target geographic area.

For example, notification module 155 can send an emergency message toindividuals of a target group located within the selected geographicarea of interest. By way of non-limiting example, the graphicalinterface messaging using notification module 155 can occur as follows:the system administrator logs into emergency response computer system101, and mapping module 158 provides a graphical representation of atarget geographic area; the system administrator selects a geographicarea of interest from the graphical representation, and the selection isloaded into the mapping module 158; the system administrator selects anoption for “Draft Message” or “Load Message” from notification module155, which initiates a “Outgoing Message” dialogue box; “Draft Message”can provide a pop-up dialogue box to allow drafting of text of a desiredmessage, while “Load Message” may provide a pop-up dialogue box withpreviously saved messages and pre-drafted messages. The systemadministrator may select an option for “Add User,” “Exclude User” fromthe “Outgoing Message” dialogue, which initiates recipient rule dialogueboxes.

In some examples, the message can also be sent to: user emails obtainedfrom user profiles in storage device 162, subscriber emails designatedfor receipt of emergency messages, an emergency message log, and/or maybe populated to an Emergency Message Dialogue display on the graphicalinterface of the mapping module.

In same or different embodiment, by way of non-limiting example withreference to FIGS. 8-14, the graphical interface messaging may occur asfollows: the system administrator logs into mapping module 158, andgraphical representation of target geographical area is loaded tographical user interface (FIG. 8); an emergency message dialogue space841 populates on the left side of the map interface 842. User submittedemergency trigger messages populated to the emergency message dialoguespace 841 in real time. As shown in FIG. 8, the information shown inemergency message dialogue space 841 can include, for example, username, identification number, phone number, email, location information,etc. from the user profiles. As shown in FIG. 9, a system administratorcan click on an incoming message to open a message pop-up box 944, whichincludes the user as the initial recipient and includes an excludebutton 945 to exclude users as recipients and an add button 946 to addusers as recipients. As shown in FIGS. 10-12, the system administratormay select, add, and exclude users to finalize recipient rules listsusing windows 1047 (FIG. 10) and 1148 (FIG. 11). Notification module 155can populate recipient rules list in window 1249, as shown in FIG. 12.As illustrated in FIGS. 13-14, the system administrator can usenotification module 155 can send message 1450 to the recipient. Afterprocedure 696, activity 289 is complete.

Next, referring again to FIG. 2, method 200 of FIG. 2 includes anactivity 290 of communicating one or more emergency alerts to the targetgroups. FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment ofactivity 290 of communicating the first emergency alert message to oneor more target groups, according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, activity 290 includes a procedure 795 of sendingone or more emergency alerts to one or more target groups. In someexamples, notification module 155 (FIG. 1) can send the emergency alertsto the target groups.

When message and recipient rules functions are complete, the systemadministrator hits “send,” and the message is distributed according tothe rules list with “[Subscriber Name] Emergency Message.”

The system administrator's login identification, time, date and locationcan be recorded to an emergency message log; and an email may be sent tothe subscriber email designated for receipt of emergency messages withsuch information and a copy of the message.

Activity 290 in FIG. 7 continues with a procedure 796 of receiving anemergency alert using a remote computing device. In some examples,emergency communications module 110, 143 and/or 144 can receive anemergency alert from notification module 155 (FIG. 1) via communicationsnetwork 108 (FIG. 1).

Subsequently, activity 290 of FIG. 7 includes a procedure 797 ofcommunicating the emergency alert to the user of the remote computingdevice. In some examples, the emergency alert can be communicated to theuser of the remote computing device 102, 103, and/or 104 using a displayon the device. In some embodiments, procedure 797 can be part ofprocedure 795. After procedure 797, activity 290 is complete, and method200 is complete when the emergency level is a second level of responseemergency.

Referring back to FIG. 2, if the emergency level is a first level ofresponse, method 200 in FIG. 2 includes an activity 291 of notifying theappropriate first response unit if the level of response after activity286 of determining the emergency level. In some examples, notifying theappropriate first level response unit can be similar to activity 289.After activity 291, method 200 is complete when the emergency level is afirst level of response emergency.

Method 200 also includes an activity 292 of monitoring telephonecommunications. In some examples, the emergency messaging system canmonitor telephone calls made using remote computing device to determineif any telephone calls were made to an emergency number. FIG. 15illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary embodiment of activity 292 ofmonitoring telephone communications, according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 15, activity 292 includes a procedure 1595 ofmonitoring telephone calls to determine if any telephone calls have beenmade to an emergency telephone number. In one example, referring to FIG.1, monitoring module 112 can monitor the telephone call log of storagedevice 122 to determine if any telephone calls have been made to anemergency telephone number within a predetermined time period (e.g.,one, five, ten, or thirty minutes). In another example, monitoringmodule 112 can monitor the number of outgoing telephone calls when theoutgoing telephone call is made to determine if the telephone call isbeing made to an emergency number.

Activity 292 in FIG. 15 continues with a procedure 1596 of communicatingto the emergency sending module that a telephone call has been made tothe emergency telephone number. In some examples, the fact that anemergency call was made to an emergency number can be consideredreceiving an emergency trigger message from the user of the remotecomputing device. In various embodiments, after procedure 1596, activity292 is complete, and the next activity is activity 282.

Turning to another embodiment, FIG. 16 illustrates block diagram of anemergency messaging system 1600, according to a second embodiment.Emergency messaging system 1600 is merely exemplary and is not limitedto the embodiments presented herein. Emergency messaging system 1600 canbe employed in many different embodiments or examples not specificallydepicted or described herein.

Emergency messaging system 1600 can be a system configured to dispatchemergency response to a person when the person uses a wireless remotecomputing device to send an emergency message (e.g., a text message or atelephone call from a wireless device). Current emergency responsesystems allow a person to call a special number (e.g., 911 in the UnitedStates) to be connected to the local emergency response units regardlessof location, but current systems are limited in their abilities in thetype of communications and the ability to precisely locate the personsending the message. For example, current emergency response systemsaccept only voice telephone calls to report an emergency. A personcurrently cannot send a SMS (short message service; i.e., a text) toreport an emergency because the telephone carrier infrastructure do notsupport this capability due to an inability to determine accurately andquickly the location of a sender of an SMS message.

Similarly, current emergency messaging systems' ability to locate aperson calling from a wireless device is limited. Current wirelesstelephone network infrastructures allow only estimates of a location ofa wireless device to within 30 meters, which can be inadequate in somesituations and locations (e.g., locating an emergency in a high-densityurban location)

Emergency messaging system 1600 overcomes these problems of a currentemergency messaging system by providing a system that allows users tosend emergency messages via text messages and provides a more accuratemethod of locating the sender of the emergency message.

In some embodiments, emergency messaging system 1600 is designed toallow node type integration for lesser functional users who might not beconsidered “emergency response unit.” In one example, emergencymessaging system 1600 could be used by a grade school that does not haveemergency response as its primary purpose, but does want to be in thecommunication stream when an emergency occurs and may have aninformation communication response obligation to staff, students and/orparents of its students.

In some embodiments, an emergency messaging system 1600 (i.e., amessaging system) can include: (a) a response computer system 1601; (b)two or more remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104; (c) one or moreemergency response units 1605. In some examples, response computersystem 1601, remote computing devices 102, 103, and 104, and emergencyresponse units 1605 can be configured to communicate usingcommunications network 108.

In other embodiments, emergency messaging system 1600 can be consideredto include: (a) an emergency response module 1650 (i.e., a responsemodule) configured to run on processing unit 161 of emergency responsecomputer system 1601; (b) an emergency communications module 110 (i.e.,a communications module) configured to run on processing unit 121 ofremote computing device 102; (c) an emergency communications module 143(i.e., a communications module) configured to run on a processing unitof remote computing device 103; and (d) an emergency communicationsmodule 144 (i.e., a communications module) configured to run on aprocessing unit of remote computing device 104.

Emergency response computer system 1601 can include: (a) at least oneprocessing unit 161; (b) emergency response module 1650 (i.e., aresponse module) configured to run on processing unit 161; (c) a storagedevice 162; and (d) an operating system 165 configured to run onprocessing unit 161.

Emergency response units 1605 can include local police departments, firedepartments, and local emergency response teams. For example, on auniversity campus, emergency response units 1605 can be the universitypolice department. In another example, in a city, the emergency responseunit can be the city police department, the city fire department, and/orthe city's EMT (emergency medical technicians) department. Generally,emergency response units 1605 for a geographic area includes the one ormore emergency response units (police, fire, EMT, etc.) responsible forresponding to an emergency in the geographic area, regardless of whetherthe responsible emergency response unit is associated with a city,county, state, province, parish, another political subdivision,university or college, or business. In some examples, emergency responseunits 1605 include first level response units 105 (FIG. 1). In otherexamples, emergency response units include first level response units105 and second level response units 106 (FIG. 1).

In many embodiments, emergency response module 1650 can include: (a) adevice communications module 151 configured to receive two or moreemergency trigger messages and location information from one or moreusers via remote computing device 102, 103 or 104; (b) a processingmodule 1652; (c) a notification module 1655; (d) a video module 1656;(e) a structure module 1657; (f) user location update module 159; (g)administration module 157; and (h) mapping module 158.

Processing module 1652 can be configured to receive the locationinformation of the remote computing device sending the emergency triggerinformation (the “emergency location”) from device communication module151 and process the emergency location information. In some examples,processing module 1652 can include: (a) a determination module 1666configured to run on processing unit 161 and further configured to usethe location of the remote computing device sending the emergencytrigger message to determine an appropriate emergency response unit tonotify; and (b) an association module 1667 configured to run onprocessing unit 161 and further configured to associate one or morelocations with one or more emergency response units 1605.

Notification module 1655 can be configured to run on processing unit 161and further configured to notify the appropriate emergency responseunit. In some examples, determination module 1666 can communicate tonotification module 1655 the appropriate emergency response unit, andnotification module 1655 can forward the emergency trigger message andthe location information to the appropriate emergency response unit. Ifthe emergency trigger message is a telephone call, notification module1655 can immediately forward the telephone call to the appropriateemergency response unit, along with the location information.

The automatic notification in the present invention differs from priorart PSAP systems and other emergency response systems which require theemergency information to be first routed to a human dispatcher beforethe information is made available to the emergency responders. This lackof automatic notification in the prior art can delay the response timeand may have catastrophic consequences when dispatchers are overwhelmed.According to the present invention, the emergency system's computerprocessor performs the analyses to determine the appropriate types ofemergency response groups and also determine the appropriate emergencyresponse unit that should be notified about the emergency with thecorresponding location of the mobile computing device that sent theemergency request. The system's computer processor also automaticallycommunicates the information to the appropriate emergency response unit.In comparison, traditional emergency response systems and traditionalPSAP systems would require the emergency dispatcher to manually performthe evaluations and then take action to communicate the information tothe emergency response units.

The difference between the computerized operations of the presentinvention and the manual operations of traditional emergency responsesystems can have life and death consequences. For example, in asituation where there are multiple emergencies in a short period of timein a particular locality, such as in the November 2015 Paris terroristattacks, PSAP operators can become overwhelmed which results in longertimes for the PSAP operators to determine and dispatch the emergencyresponse units and delays in the emergency response units arriving atthe locations of the emergencies. In comparison, the computerizedoperations of the present invention would determine the appropriateemergency response units for respective emergencies and send theemergency and location information to these emergency response units.

In the particular example of the November 2015 Paris terrorist attackswhere there had been a series of coordinated attacks, the first attackoccurred near the sports stadium. Even though there had been rapidresponse emergency teams deployed around Paris due to heightened terrorwarnings, the initial attack overwhelmed the PSAP dispatchers so thatwhen the subsequent attacks occurred, the rapid response emergency teamswere delayed in being deployed. In comparison, with a PSAP system thatoperates in conjunction with the present invention, even when the PSAPdispatchers are overwhelmed with the initial emergency calls, theemergency response computer system would continue to receive theemergency messages from people with mobile computing devices at theother targeted locations. The computer determines the appropriate rapidresponse emergency teams for the locations and sends the emergency andlocation information to the emergency teams. Accordingly, the inventionoperates in a fundamentally different manner than traditional emergencyresponse systems.

Another example comparing how traditional emergency response systemsoperate with the automatic notification operation of the presentinvention indicates how the differences have life and death consequenceswhen implemented in a real-life emergency response operations center.For example, in large cities where there could be dozens of emergencyoperators and dispatchers along with numerous supervisors and otheremergency officials. It is recognized in the prior art that theemergency call centers can be “overwhelmed” but the prior art emergencyresponse systems only still leaves the most intense and pressingemergencies for manual evaluation of the content of messages. When thereare dozens of operators, there is no possible way that the operatorsusing the traditional emergency response systems can communicate witheach other and with the people requesting emergency services in order toquickly determine the scale and urgency of an emergency situation. Incomparison, the present invention uses a computer processor running theemergency response module to determine locations of the remote computingdevices, analyzes the content of the emergency trigger messages,determines the level of emergency according to the locations and thecontent, and automatically notifies the closest available response unit.Accordingly, the computer processor operations of the emergency responsemodule are integrated in a way that is entirely different from and farsuperior than the manual operations of traditional emergency responsesystems.

Video module 1656 can be configured to run on processing unit 161 andfurther configured to determine whether a live video feed exists for theemergency location. If live video feed exists for the emergencylocation, video module 1656 can be configured to provide access to thelive video feed for the emergency location to emergency response units1605. In some examples, video module 1656 can be configured tocommunicate with police departments, governmental transportationauthorities, private video sources, and other sources to have access totheir video feeds in case of an emergency event. In many embodiments,video module 1656 can be configured such that video module 1656 accessesinformation stored in storage device 162 that includes a list of livevideo feeds available for usage and connection information for thesevideo feeds.

Structure module 1657 can be configured to run on processing unit 161and further configured to: (a) determine whether a structure exists atthe emergency location; (b) determine whether a schematic exist for thestructure; and (c) provide access to the schematic of the structure toemergency response unit(s) 1605 if the schematic exists for thestructure. In some examples, structure module 1657 can be furtherconfigured to provide information about a location of one or morepersons in the structure to the emergency response units.

FIG. 17 illustrates a flow chart for an embodiment of a method 1700 ofresponding to an emergency, according to a second embodiment. Method1700 is merely exemplary and is not limited to the embodiments presentedherein. Method 1700 can be employed in many different embodiments orexamples not specifically depicted or described herein. In someembodiments, the activities, the procedures, and/or the processes ofmethod 1700 can be performed in the order presented. In otherembodiments, the activities, the procedures, and/or the processes ofmethod 1700 can be performed in any other suitable order. In still otherembodiments, one or more of the activities, the procedures, and/or theprocesses in method 1700 can be combined or skipped.

Method 1700 of FIG. 17 include an activity 1780 of associating one ormore locations with one or more emergency response units. In someexamples, association module 1667 (FIG. 16) can associate one or moregeographic areas with one or more emergency response units. For example,FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate examples of a map 1800 of a geographicassociation of locations and emergency response units, according to anembodiment. As shown in the map of FIG. 18A, different geographic areas1807, 1808, 1809, and 1810 can be associated with different emergencyresponse units. In the example shown in FIG. 18A, a first emergencyresponse unit can be associated with geographical area 1807, a secondemergency response unit can be associated with geographical area 1808, athird emergency response unit can be associated with geographical area1809, and a fourth emergency response unit can be associated withgeographical area 1810. FIG. 18B shows an example of how overlappinggeofences allow delivery of an emergency event to one or more agenciesbased on the location of a mobile device. These are approximations ofthree police municipalities 1822 a, 1822 b, 1822 c within a single fireprotection district 1820. Each of the municipalities has their own lawenforcement services. The fire protection agency provides fire andemergency medical for some or all of each of the three includedmunicipalities and of other municipalities not defined in this figure.

In activity 1780, a user of emergency response computer system 1601(FIG. 16) can load information regarding the associations into emergencyresponse computer system 1601 (FIG. 16), and association module 1667(FIG. 16) can create associations between various locations and variousemergency response units. In some examples, a user of emergency responsecomputer system 1601 can use a visual mapping tool to load theassociation data. In other examples, the information can be loaded usingdifferent processes.

Next, method 1700 of FIG. 17 includes an activity 1781 of facilitatinginstallation of the emergency communication module on the one or moremobile computing devices. In some examples, the installation of theemergency communications module can be facilitated by providing theapplication, providing instructions for installation, and/or providingthe application to a third party, who provides the application to theuser.

Referring again to FIG. 17, method 1700 includes an activity 1782 ofreceiving an emergency trigger message from a user of a remote computingdevice. In some embodiments, the emergency trigger message is receivedfrom a user of the remote computing device using an emergency sendingmodule of an emergency communications module. The emergencycommunications module and emergency sending module can be running on aprocessor of the remote computing device.

Referring to FIG. 1, for example, a user can activate emergencycommunications module 110 on remote computing device 102, and emergencysending module 111 can be opened. Emergency sending module 111 canpresent a user of remote computing device 102 a window on display 131into which the user can type the emergency trigger message using inputdevice 132. In some examples, the emergency trigger message is a textmessage, and the user can type the text message into the window ofemergency sending module 111. In other examples, the emergency triggermessage can be a sound recording, and the user can record the emergencytrigger message using input device 132. In other examples, the emergencytrigger message can be a telephone call, and the user can initiate thetelephone call using input device 132.

Referring again to FIG. 17, method 1700 in FIG. 17 continues with anactivity 1783 of determining a location of the remote computing device.In some examples, a location determination module 113 (FIG. 1) candetermine the location of remote computing device 102 (FIGS. 1 and 16).

Referring to FIG. 17, for example, after the user submits the emergencytrigger message, emergency sending module 111 can request the currentlocation of remote computing device 102 from location determinationmodule 113. In other examples, emergency sending module 111 can requestthe current location of remote computing device 102 from locationdetermination module 113 when the user activates emergencycommunications module 110 or when the user begins entering the emergencytrigger message into remote computing device 102. After locationdetermination module 113 determines the location, location determinationmodule 113 can communicate the location to emergency sending module 111.In various embodiments, location determination module 113 can determinethe location of remote computing device 102 at predetermined intervals(e.g., ten seconds, one minute, ten minutes, and one hour intervals).

Referring back to FIG. 17, method 1700 includes an activity 1784 ofsending the emergency trigger message to the emergency response computersystem. In some examples, sending the emergency trigger message caninclude sending an audio recording or text message with the location tothe response computer system using the emergency module. In otherexamples, sending the emergency trigger message can include a telephonecall to a human operator in communication with response computer system101.

Referring to FIG. 1, for example, after the user submits the emergencytrigger message and emergency sending module 111 receives the currentlocation information from location determination module 113, emergencysending module 111 sends the emergency trigger message and the currentlocation information to device communications module 151 overcommunications network 108. In other examples, if emergency sendingmodule 111 does not receive (or location determination module cannotdetermine) the current location information within a predeterminedperiod of time (e.g., 1, 5, 10, or 30 seconds), emergency sending module111 can send the emergency trigger message to device communicationsmodule 151 without the current location information. In the exampleswhere the current location information is not available, emergencysending module 111 can send the most recent location informationavailable along with the timestamp for the location information.Furthermore, when the current location information is not available,emergency sending module 111 can send the information as soon as itbecomes available.

Next, method 1700 of FIG. 17 includes an activity 1785 of receiving theemergency trigger message from the remote computing device. In someexamples, the emergency response computer system can receive emergencytrigger messages from the users via two or more remote computingdevices.

In some examples, receiving the emergency trigger message can includereceiving a text message from the user of the remote computing device.In various embodiments, receiving the emergency trigger message furthercan include receiving an audio recording. The audio recording can be arecording made by a user of a remote computing device. In still anotherexample, receiving the emergency trigger message can include receiving atelephone call from the user of the remote computing device.

Method 1700 in FIG. 17 continues with an activity 1786 of processing theemergency trigger message. FIG. 19 illustrates a flow chart for anexemplary embodiment of activity 1785 of processing the emergencytrigger messages, according to the second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 19, activity 1786 includes a procedure 1995 ofdetermining one or more emergency response units associated with thelocation of the remote computing device (i.e., the emergency location).In various embodiments, determination module 1666 (FIG. 16) candetermine the emergency response units associated with the emergencylocation. For example, determination module 1666 can access theassociation databases stored in storage device 162, which were createdin activity 1780 (FIG. 17), to determine the emergency response unitsassociated with the emergency location.

In various examples, if the remote computing device is transmitting inits location at predetermined intervals, determination module 1666 candetermine when emergency response module 150 (FIG. 1) receives the newlocation information what emergency response units are associated withthe remote computing device's current location and store thatinformation in a database of storage device 162. For example, if aremote computing device moves from geographical area 1807 (FIG. 18) togeographical area 1808 (FIG. 18), determination module 1666 can changethe emergency response unit associated with the remote computing devicefrom the first emergency response unit to the second emergency responseunit. In the same or different examples, device communications module151 (FIG. 1) can communicate to the remote computing device thatidentity of the emergency response units when the emergency responseunit associated with the remote computing device's location change.

Subsequently, activity 1786 includes procedure 1996 of providing theemergency trigger message to the appropriate one or more emergencyresponse units. In some examples, determination module 1666 (FIG. 16)can communicate the appropriate emergency response units to notificationmodule 1655. Notification module 1655 can provide the emergency triggermessage along with the location information to the appropriate responseunits. In many examples, procedure 1996 can be similar or the same asactivity 291 and/or 288 of FIG. 2. After procedure 1996, activity 1786is complete.

Referring again to FIG. 17, method 1700 continues with an activity 1787of determining whether auxiliary information about the emergencylocation exists. FIG. 20 illustrates a flow chart for an exemplaryembodiment of activity 1787 of whether auxiliary information about theemergency location exists, according to the second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 19, activity 1787 includes a procedure 2095 ofdetermining whether a live video feed exists for the emergency location.In some examples, video module 1656 (FIG. 16) can query the databasesstored in storage device 162 (FIGS. 1 & 16) to determine whether a livevideo feed exists for the emergency location. For example, video module1656 (FIG. 16) can then determine whether there are any geo-fenced videocameras accessible for that location by cross-referencing the emergencylocation with geo-fenced camera IP address feeds. If a live video feedexists, the next procedure in activity 1787 is a procedure 2096. If alive video feed does not exist, the next procedure is a procedure 2097.

If a live video feed exists, procedure 2096 of activity 1787 isperformed and involves providing the live video feed to the appropriateemergency response units. For example, video module 1656 (FIG. 16) canallow the appropriate emergency response unit to access the video feedthrough tactical emergency management interface and captured in an eventlog with the call. The tactical emergency management interface of videomodule 1656 (FIG. 16) can allow a member of the emergency response unitto draw a polygon onto a GPS integrated map to overlay a video camerafield of vision “footprint” in order to allow automatic access of thevideo camera feed in a tactical emergency management interface.

Activity 1787 of FIG. 20 includes a procedure 2097 of determiningwhether a structure exists at the emergency location. In some examples,structure module 1657 (FIG. 16) can query the databases stored instorage device 162 (FIGS. 1 & 16) to determine whether a structureexists for the emergency location. For example, video module 1656 canthen determine whether there are any geo-fenced video cameras accessiblefor that location by cross-referencing the emergency location withgeo-fenced camera IP address feeds. If a structure does not exist at theemergency location, the next activity is activity 2099.

If a structure exists at the emergency location, activity 1787 of FIG.20 includes a procedure 2098 of determining whether any informationabout the structure is available. For example, structure module 1657(FIG. 16) can determine whether there are any geo-fenced buildingschematics accessible for the emergency location by cross-referencingthe emergency location with geo-fenced building schematic feeds. In thesame or different example, structure module 1657 (FIG. 16) can query thedatabases stored in storage device 162 (FIGS. 1 & 16) to determinewhether information about the structure at the emergency locationexists. If no information about the structure is available, thenactivity 1787 is complete and the next activity is activity 1788.

If information about the structure is available, activity 1787 of FIG.20 includes a procedure 2099 of providing the information about thestructure to the appropriate emergency response units. In some examples,structure module 1657 (FIG. 16) can provide various types of informationabout the structure to the appropriate emergency response units.

Referring to FIG. 16, in some embodiments, structure module 1657 canprovide building schematics of the structure to the appropriateemergency response units. For example, structure module 1657 can allow amember of an emergency response unit to draw a polygon onto a GPSintegrated map to overlay a building's two-dimensional footprint inorder to allow automatic access of the schematic into a tacticalemergency management interface of structure module 1657.

In the same or different embodiments, structure module 1657 candetermine whether any individuals are in the structure and theirlocations. For example, structure module 1657 can access a database instorage device 162 that includes information regarding the locations ofremote computing devices 102, 103, and 104. Structure module 1657 candetermine whether any of remote computing devices 102, 103, or 104 arelocated in the structure at the emergency location. In various examples,structure module 1657 can plot the locations of any remote computingdevices, which are located in the structure, into a building schematic.Structure module 1657 can allow a member of the emergency response unitto draw a polygon onto a GPS integrated map to overlay a building'sthree-dimensional “schematic” in order to allow automatic access of theschematic into a tactical emergency management interface, with locationsof individuals plotted into the schematic using the appropriate X, Y,and Z axis information.

In still the same or a different embodiment, structure module 1657 canprovide automatic first responder assistance. For example, structuremodule 1657 can use specific user locations within a building schematicto trigger pre-defined ingress/egress/evacuation plans and provide theseto appropriate emergency response units. Ingress, egress, tacticalplanning and other emergency responder information associated locationswithin a building schematic can be stored in storage device 162. Bydefining target locations within the building schematic, structuremodule 1657 can provide instructions for ingress, egress, potentialhazards, and scenario specific alternatives. In other embodiments,structure module 1657 can provide other information about the structureat the emergency location to the appropriate emergency response units.After procedure 2099 (FIG. 17), activity 1787 is complete.

Referring again to FIG. 17, the next activity in method 1700 of FIG. 17is an activity 1788 of determining whether another emergency triggermessage has been received. If another emergency trigger message isreceived, the next activity is activity 1782. If no emergency message isreceived, activity 1788 is repeated.

FIG. 21 illustrates a computer 2100 that is suitable for implementing anembodiment of at least a portion of response computer system 101 (FIG.1). Computer 2100 includes a chassis 2102 containing one or more circuitboards (not shown), a USB (universal serial bus) port 2112, a CompactDisc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) and/or Digital Video Disc (DVD) drive2116, and a hard drive 2114. A representative block diagram of theelements included on the circuit boards inside chassis 2102 is shown inFIG. 22. A central processing unit (CPU) 2210 in FIG. 22 is coupled to asystem bus 2214 in FIG. 22. In various embodiments, the architecture ofCPU 2210 can be compliant with any of a variety of commerciallydistributed architecture families.

System bus 2214 also is coupled to memory 2208 that includes both readonly memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Non-volatile portionsof memory 2208 or the ROM can be encoded with a boot code sequencesuitable for restoring computer 2100 (FIG. 21) to a functional stateafter a system reset. In addition, memory 2208 can include microcodesuch as a Basic Input-Output System (BIOS). In some examples, storagedevice 162 (FIG. 1) can include memory 2208, USB drive 2112, hard drive2114, and/or CD-ROM or DVD drive 2116.

In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 22, various I/O devices such as adisk controller 2204, a graphics adapter 2224, a video controller 2202,a keyboard adapter 2226, a mouse adapter 2206, a network adapter 2220,and other I/O devices 2222 can be coupled to system bus 2214. Keyboardadapter 2226 and mouse adapter 2206 are coupled to a keyboard 2104(FIGS. 21 and 22) and a mouse 2110 (FIGS. 21 and 22), respectively, ofcomputer 2100 (FIG. 21). While graphics adapter 2224 and videocontroller 2202 are indicated as distinct units in FIG. 22, videocontroller 2202 can be integrated into graphics adapter 2224, or viceversa in other embodiments. Video controller 2202 is suitable forrefreshing a monitor 2106 (FIGS. 21 and 22) to display images on ascreen 2108 (FIG. 21) of computer 2100 (FIG. 21). Disk controller 2204can control hard drive 2114 (FIGS. 21 and 22), floppy disc drive 2112(FIGS. 21 and 22), and CD-ROM or DVD drive 2116 (FIGS. 21 and 22). Inother embodiments, distinct units can be used to control each of thesedevices separately.

Network adapters 2220 can be coupled to one or more antennas. In someembodiments, network adapter 2220 is part of a WNIC (wireless networkinterface controller) card (not shown) plugged or coupled to anexpansion port (not shown) in computer 2100. In other embodiments, theWNIC card can be a wireless network card built into internal computer2100. A wireless network adapter can be built into internal clientcomputer 2100 by having wireless Ethernet capabilities integrated intothe motherboard chipset (not shown), or implemented via a dedicatedwireless Ethernet chip (not shown), connected through the PCI(peripheral component interconnector) or a PCI express bus. In otherembodiments, network adapter 2220 can be a wired network adapter.

Although many other components of computer 2100 (FIG. 21) are not shown,such components and their interconnection are well known to those ofordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, further details concerning theconstruction and composition of computer 2100 and the circuit boardsinside chassis 2102 (FIG. 21) need not be discussed herein.

When computer 2100 in FIG. 21 is running, program instructions stored ona USB drive in USB port 2112, on a CD-ROM or DVD in CD-ROM and/or DVDdrive 2116, on hard drive 2114, or in memory 2208 (FIG. 22) are executedby CPU 2210 (FIG. 22). A portion of the program instructions, stored onthese devices, can be suitable for carrying out method 200 (FIG. 2)and/or method 1700 of FIG. 17 as described previously with respect toFIGS. 1-20.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention. Accordingly, the disclosure of embodiments of theinvention is intended to be illustrative of the scope of the inventionand is not intended to be limiting. It is intended that the scope of theinvention shall be limited only to the extent required by the appendedclaims. For example, to one of ordinary skill in the art, it will bereadily apparent that parts of method 200 of FIG. 2 and 1700 of FIG. 17and may be comprised of many different activities, procedures and beperformed by many different modules, in many different orders; that anyelement of FIG. 1 may be modified; and that the foregoing discussion ofcertain of these embodiments does not necessarily represent a completedescription of all possible embodiments.

The current implementation of the system distributes an “EmergencyEvent” that takes the location from the device and pairs it with aprofile managed by the user that enables sharing emergency healthinformation, an image, emergency contacts, etc. with appropriatestakeholders in the community. Threat Escalation is creating a secondaryevent based on the frequency or content of Emergency Events. Thefrequency trigger for emergency call/text events creates a secondaryThreat Escalation Event based on monitoring the number of emergencycall/text events for a defined geographic location, creating a ThreatEscalation Event when the frequency of call/text events exceeds adefined threshold. The content trigger for emergency call/text eventscreates a secondary Threat Escalation Event based on monitoring thecontent of emergency call/text events for a defined geographic location,creating a Threat Escalation Event when the content of call/text eventsmeets defined criteria.

Additionally, the model for automating the distribution of informationdeployed in the System is based on representing overlapping stakeholderinterests with dynamic, customizable, location definitions. The platformuses geographic definition of a stakeholder interest in a geographiclocation to automatically distribute a threat escalation event by crossreferencing the stakeholder location with the location(s) of theunderlying events. For example during a Single Stakeholder Distributionof a Threat Escalation Event where many students use the SirenGPS app tomake 911 calls from a campus SirenGPS identifies the frequency of thesecalls as an escalated threat event and distributes the threat event toUniversity Dispatch. When there is a Single Stakeholder Multiple PartyDistribution of a Threat Escalation Event and many students use theSrenGPS app to make 911 calls from a campus. SirenGPS identifies thefrequency of these calls as an escalated threat event and distributesthe threat event to: University Dispatch, University's Chief of Police,the nearest University patrol officer and other similar parties.

When there is a Distribution of the Threat Escalation to MultipleStakeholders of a Threat Escalation Event the system employs geographicdefinition of locations that represent stakeholder interest crossreferenced with the geo locations of the underlying Emergency Events toautomatically distribute the threat escalation event to overlappingstakeholder interests. For example when there are Multiple Stakeholder,Multiple Party Distribution of a Threat Escalation Event and manystudents use the SirenGPS app to make 911 calls from a Universitycampus. SirenGPS identifies the frequency of these calls as an escalatedthreat event and distributes the threat event to: University Dispatch,University Chief of Police, nearest University patrol officer; cityDispatch, city patrol officer, city battalion commander on duty;neighboring city of dispatch, neighboring city patrol officer,neighboring city battalion commander on duty for example at WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis with neighboring city of Clayton. Additionally,when there is Multiple Stakeholder, Multiple Party Distribution of anUnderlying Event a student uses the SirenGPS app to make a 911 call froma location within Washington University's campus. Subsequently, SirenGPSidentifies the location of the call as implicating three distinctstakeholder interests by comparing the location of the call togeographic representations within each of the stakeholder SirenGPSenvironments. This association triggers automatic distribution of anemergency call event to: Washington University Dispatch, WashingtonUniversity Chief of Police, nearest Washington University patrolofficer; City of St Louis Dispatch, City of St Louis patrol officer,City of St Louis battalion commander on duty; City of Clayton

Secondary information source distribution is the model for crossreferencing dynamic location associations to determine distribution ofinformation across stakeholder interests explained in the previousexamples can be used to integrate external sensors, systems andresources into the work-flow for discovering, responding to andcommunicating about emergencies. IP-camera feed may be tool involvingcross referencing the location for an emergency event with availablecamera(s) geofence(s) to select the appropriate camera(s) toautomatically select the appropriate camera feed(s) to be distributedwith the Event. For example, when there are Multiple Stakeholders andMultiple Party Distribution of video feed(s) for an Event such as when astudent uses the SirenGPS app to make a 911 call from a location withinWashington University's campus. SirenGPS identifies the location of thecall to be located within the geofences that define the viewing area forthree nearby camera(s) that are accessible via the internet by comparingthe location of the call to geographic representations of the cameraviewing area(s). SirenGPS simultaneously identifies the location of thecall as indicating three distinct stakeholder interests by comparing thelocation of the call to geographic representations within each of thestakeholder SirenGPS environments. This association triggersdistribution of an emergency call event with the indicted camera feed(s)to: Washington University Dispatch, Washington University Chief ofPolice, nearest Washington University patrol officer; City of St LouisDispatch, City of St Louis patrol officer, City of St Louis battalioncommander on duty; City of Clayton.

Sensor event distribution may occur when there are a variety of sensorsrelevant to emergency communication including traffic, motion/activity,heat, air quality, water quality, radiation levels, moisture, etc. Theexample above describes a process used to cross reference the locationfor a 911 caller's location with geofence(s) that define viewing areafor available camera(s) to select the appropriate camera(s). The triggerevent that initiates the distribution process in the example is the 911call. The trigger event role in that example can be replaced withsomething other than an emergency call. The trigger and distributionprocess can then be applied to any geo-referenced event or sourceincluding: airborne contaminant sensor, water contaminant sensor,radiation sensor, gunshot detection, alarm system, door sensor, motionsensor, or distribution of a third party alert (weather, earthquake,etc.). System would allow administrator to create distribution model fordelivery of the sensor data package based on one or a combination ofSensor Initiated Distribution Trigger and External Trigger forDistribution of Sensor Data.

During a Sensor Initiated Distribution Trigger the System allowscreation of georeferenced definition of an area within which the systemshould monitor location associated sensors for a defined outputparameter(s). If/When a sensor(s) within the defined area meets thedefined trigger requirements, the data from the sensor(s) is distributedto mobile/ web services according to an administrator defineddistribution list as an event. For example during a multiple stakeholdermultiple party distribution of sensor feed(s) event such as when waterquality sensors are deployed throughout a large area and made availableto interested stakeholders. The city, university and an advocacy groupeach define the area appropriate to their interest and define a sensorreading that indicates water is contaminated as the trigger event. Whenthe sensor indicates that the water quality has degraded and meets thecriteria, the sensor output is distributed to various parties at each ofthe stakeholder entities.

During an External Trigger for Distribution of Sensor Data the systemmonitors external sources for geo-referenced events that can includeemergency calls, emergency alerts, evacuation orders, etc. Systemprocesses these external events by comparing the georeferenced eventlocation information to locations for available sensor(s). If/When theexternal event achieves, the data from the indicated sensor(s) isdistributed to mobile/ web services according to an administratordefined distribution list. For example during a multiple stakeholdermultiple party distribution of sensor feed(s) event such as whenradiation sensors deployed throughout a large area and made available tostakeholders. The city, university and a first responder agency eachdefine the geographic area appropriate to their interest. The federalgovernment issues a warning of a radiation threat to a definedgeographic area. SirenGPS compares the area identified in the threatwarning to geographic areas associated communities. SirenGPSsimultaneously compares the area identified in the threat warning withlocations associated with sensors. Stakeholder location comparisonindicates three distinct stakeholder interests. System distributes theemergency warning event along with output from indicted sensor feed(s)to: the city, university and the first responder agency.

Additional resource distribution can also be used as secondaryinformation and/or resource(s) distribution upon positive crossreference of location associated with the information/resource and thelocation associated with a triggering event. Building schematicdistribution may distribute building plans electronically upon atriggering event. This tool set contemplates creating a geofence definedby the geographic footprint of a given building and cross referencingthe location defined by that geofence with a location based event toselect the appropriate building plan/schematic(s) to be made part of thedistribution of the triggering event. For example during a multiplestakeholder multiple party distribution of building schematic triggeredby a distinct location event, such as when the city, university and afirst responder agency each define the geographic area appropriate totheir interest. A user makes an emergency call from a location that inall three stakeholder defined areas. SirenGPS compares the locationidentified in the emergency call event with all stakeholder definedareas and matches three stakeholders. System distributes the emergencycall with indicated building schematics to: the city, university and thefirst responder agency. Another example of a building schematicdistribution may occur from an area event such as when the city,university and a first responder agency each define a geographic areaappropriate to their interest. The National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) puts out a tornado warning that includesgeographic parameters for the area threatened by the storm. SirenGPScompares the geographic area identified in NOAA's tornado warning withall stakeholder defined areas and matches three stakeholders. Systemalso compares the geographic area identified in NOAA's tornado warningwith geographic areas associated with building schematics. Systemdistributes the emergency alert with indicated building schematics to:the city, university and the first responder agency.

Similarly, emergency plan distribution may occur as emergency planstypically apply to specific geographic location(s) and include nuancerelated to the hazards, assets and other features of the location. Thistool contemplates distributed of an emergency plan upon a triggeringevent based on comparisons of location from the triggering event and adefined geographic area associated with the emergency plan. An exampleemergency plan distribution triggered by a distinct location event mayinclude when the city, university and a first responder agency eachdefine the geographic area appropriate to their interest. A gunshotdetection system indicates a firearm discharge at a location within allthree stakeholder defined areas. SirenGPS compares the locationidentified by the gunshot detection event with all stakeholder definedareas and matches three stakeholders. System also compares thegeographic area identified by the gunshot detection system withgeographic areas associated with emergency plan(s) maintained by each ofthe stakeholders. System distributes the gunshot detection event withindicated emergency plan(s) appropriate to each stakeholder: the city,university and the first responder agency.

Additionally an emergency plan distribution triggered by an area eventmay occur when the city, university and a first responder agency eachdefine a geographic area appropriate to their interest. The NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts out a tornado warningthat includes geographic parameters for the area threatened by thestorm. SirenGPS compares the geographic area identified in NOAA'stornado warning with all stakeholder defined areas and matches threestakeholders. System also compares the geographic area identified inNOAA's tornado warning with geographic areas associated with emergencyplan(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders. System distributesNOAA's emergency alert with indicated emergency plans appropriate toeach stakeholder: the city, university and the first responder agency.

An emergency plan distribution triggered by location and content of anarea event may occur such as when the city, university and a firstresponder agency each define a geographic area appropriate to theirinterest. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)puts out a tornado warning that includes geographic parameters for thearea threatened by the storm. SirenGPS compares the geographic areaidentified in NOAA's tornado warning with all stakeholder defined areasand matches three stakeholders. System compares the geographic areaidentified in NOAA's tornado warning with geographic areas associatedwith emergency plan(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders. Systemcompares the content of NOAA's tornado warning to select appropriateemergency plan(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders. Systemdistributes NOAA's emergency alert with indicated emergency plansappropriate to each stakeholder: the city, university and the firstresponder agency

A checklist distribution includes a checklist defining tasks to becompleted upon a specific trigger. The system allows an administrator todefine a trigger event that will auto distribute a checklist to adistribution list upon the triggering event and automatecompletion/tracking of the task list by the recipient(s). System allowsadministrator to define a location for a checklist and cross referencingthe location defined by that geofence with a location or content basedevent to select the appropriate checklist to be made part of thedistribution of the event. An example checklist distribution triggeredby a distinct location event may include the city, university and afirst responder agency each define the geographic area appropriate totheir interest. A 911 call is made from a location within all threestakeholder defined areas. SirenGPS compares the location identified bythe emergency call event with all stakeholder defined areas and matchesthree stakeholders. System also compares the geographic area identifiedby the emergency call event with geographic areas associated with CheckList(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders. System distributes theemergency call event with indicated Check List(s) appropriate to eachstakeholder: the city, university and the first responder agency.

Additionally a checklist distribution triggered by an area event mayoccur when the city, university and a first responder agency each definea geographic area appropriate to their interest. The National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts out a tornado warning thatincludes geographic parameters for the area threatened by the storm.SirenGPS compares the geographic area identified in NOAA's tornadowarning with all stakeholder defined areas and matches threestakeholders. System also compares the geographic area identified inNOAA's tornado warning with geographic areas associated with CheckList(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders. System distributesNOAA's emergency alert with indicated Check List(s) appropriate to eachstakeholder to: the city, university and the first responder agency.

A checklist distribution triggered by location and content of an areaevent may occur such as when the city, university and a first responderagency each define a geographic area appropriate to their interest. TheNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts out atornado warning that includes geographic parameters for the areathreatened by the storm. SirenGPS compares the geographic areaidentified in NOAA's tornado warning with all stakeholder defined areasand matches three stakeholders. System compares the geographic areaidentified in NOAA's tornado warning with geographic areas associatedwith emergency plan(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders. Systemcompares the content of NOAA's tornado warning to select appropriateemergency plan(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders. Systemdistributes NOAA's emergency alert with indicated emergency plansappropriate each stakeholder to: the city, university and the firstresponder agency.

Contact list distributions include a contact list including informationrequired to call or otherwise contact individuals. Contact Lists can beautomatically assembled based on locations associated with an event,cross referenced with locations for individuals, or can be assembled byother means that may or not be related to a current Event. The systemwould allow an administrator to define a trigger event that will autoselect/create and distribute a contact list to a distribution list upona triggering event. System allows administrator to define a location forthe Contact List and cross referencing the location defined by thatgeofence with a location or content based event to select theappropriate Contact List to be made part of the distribution of theevent. The System makes this list available to the recipient for export,use within the System, or use in third party systems.

Examples of contact list distribution for a location event, area eventand location and content of an area event include for a location eventwhen the city, university and a first responder agency each define thegeographic area appropriate to their interest. A gunshot detectionsystem indicates a firearm discharge at a location within all threestakeholder defined areas. SirenGPS compares the location identified bythe gunshot detection event with all stakeholder defined areas andmatches three stakeholders. System also compares the geographic areaidentified by the gunshot detection system with geographic areasassociated with Contact Lists(s) maintained by each of the stakeholders.System distributes the gunshot detection event with indicated ContactList(s) appropriate to each stakeholder to: the city, university and thefirst responder agency. For an area event when The city, university anda first responder agency each define a geographic area appropriate totheir interest. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) puts out a tornado warning that includes geographic parametersfor the area threatened by the storm. SirenGPS compares the geographicarea identified in NOAA's tornado warning with all stakeholder definedareas and matches three stakeholders. System also compares thegeographic area identified in NOAA's tornado warning with geographicareas associated with Contact List(s) maintained by each of thestakeholders. System distributes NOAA's emergency alert with indicatedContact List(s) appropriate to each stakeholder to: the city, universityand the first responder agency. And for the location and content of anarea event when The city, university and a first responder agency eachdefine a geographic area appropriate to their interest. The NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts out a tornado warningthat includes geographic parameters for the area threatened by thestorm. SirenGPS compares the geographic area identified in NOAA'stornado warning with all stakeholder defined areas and matches threestakeholders. System compares the geographic area identified in NOAA'stornado warning with geographic areas associated with Contact List(s)maintained by each of the stakeholders. System compares the content ofNOAA's tornado warning to select appropriate emergency plan(s)maintained by each of the stakeholders. System distributes NOAA'semergency alert with indicated Contact List(s) appropriate to eachstakeholder to: the city, university and the first responder agency.

As shown in FIG. 23, the UI display 131 optimizes location by showingthe time required to complete location capture on mobile devices ishighly variable within the time-frame required to execute an emergencycall from a device, particularly if the device was “asleep” or powereddown. Often hesitating for a couple of seconds will allow locationcapture to complete, dramatically improving the location quality. Systemdisplays time/function based information to the user as a graphicrepresentation 114 on a mobile device that communicates the status ofthe location capture process. The purpose of the display is to encouragethe user to allow sufficient time for the device to complete locationcapture before initiating an emergency call, where possible.

Additionally the UI display can be updated with emergency numbers 116based on location 118 such as where the system updates mobile deviceemergency calling tools based on location. Device is populated withemergency calling numbers for Fire, Ambulance and Police services wherethese numbers are available. Numbers update based on location locally,nationally and globally. The system monitors device location to maintaindisplay with the numbers associated with current location at all times.Numbers are displayed as buttons on mobile device emergency call screen120. Using buttons on the emergency call screen initiates an autodialfor the emergency number selected.

Accordingly, location updates are provided for emergency numbers wherenumbers available for emergency calling update as the device transitionsto a new location. System monitors third party country associatedinformation from telephone carrier, internet service provider and otheraccess points. System can also use defined geographic referencelocations for increased granularity below the national level to providelocal numbers and to corroborate national identification. For exampleand as shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B emergency numbers in the program ofthe mobile computing device update as users enters a new country 118 awhere the system maintains local emergency calling numbers for everycountry in the world. A user starts on a trip to Egypt 118 a″ from theUnited States 118 a′. In the United States the numbers 116 a foremergency calling for Fire Service, Ambulance, and Police are all 911.The service populates these numbers while the user is in the UnitedStates. Upon arrival, the system detects that the mobile device is nowlocated in Egypt where the numbers 116 b for Fire Service, Fire Serviceand Police are “180”, “123”, and “122”, respectively. The system updatesthe emergency calling numbers on the emergency call screen to “180”,“123”, and “122” as shown in FIG. 24B. Generally, the centralizedemergency response computer system sends updated emergency respondercontacts to the mobile computing device.

Similarly, emergency numbers update as a user enters a definedgeographic area within a country, such as a city, county or similarlocalized area 118 b, without national service such as in some areas nonational emergency calling service is available. The system usesgeographic definition of areas where no national number is available topopulate alternative numbers to the emergency call screen. A user startson a trip from within the United States to an area of rural Missouriwithout 911 service. In the United States the numbers for emergencycalling for Fire Service, Ambulance, and Police are all 911. The servicepopulates these numbers for the user until the user enters an area where911 service is no longer available. Upon arrival in the definedgeographic area the system detects that the mobile device is now locatedin an area where the numbers for Fire Service, Fire Service and Policeare limited to local ten digit numbers.

As shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B the system allows for definition oftelephone number(s) that are auto populated to the emergency callinterface for users based on association and/or proximity. Theseadditional and nonemergency numbers 126 display as a button in theemergency call interface. When pressed, the button auto-dials theassociated number. The system also distributes numbers by location wherethe System allows definition of a geographic area to be associated witha telephone number to display the number on the user's emergency callinterface when the user's location is within the area defined for thenumber. For example, an additional number will appear based on locationwhere a City defines the service area for a local poison control callcenter as a geofence in the system Community. The City enables atelephone number for the local poison control call center on the system.As a user enters the service area for the local poison control callcenter, the local poison control telephone number appears as a button onthe emergency call interface.

Numbers may also distribute by proximity where the system allowsdefinition of a geographic location for a telephone number to sortnumbers on the user's emergency call interface based on the user'sproximity to the location associated with the number. This may occurwhere The City, County and State all have system Communities withconcentric overlapping geofences that define their respective geographicboundaries. Each of these entities enables a telephone number formotorist assistance and designates a location associated with theentity's respective number. A user is associated with all three entitiesas either a member or visitor as appropriate in each system Community.The three motorist assistance numbers appear as buttons on the emergencycall interface. The three buttons appear in order of proximity bycomparing the current location of the user and the locations associatedwith each of the motorist assistance numbers.

Similarly numbers may distribute by association where the system allowsa telephone number to display on the user's emergency call interfacebased on a defined relationship. For example, when the City, County andState all have system Communities and each of these entities enables amotorist assistance number on the system. A user is a member of the Cityand County Communities, but is not a member of the State Community. Themotorist assistance numbers for the City and State appear as buttons onthe emergency call interface. The motorist assistance number for theState does not appear as a button on the emergency call interface.

A user can control location privacy where in the absence of the servicemobile device user location anonymity is currently protected by limitedthird party visibility of location information and poor quality oflocation information available within current infrastructure. Evolvinginfrastructure technology will make location more accurate and moreavailable, presenting a threat to personal privacy. To address thepersonal privacy issues associated with location sharing the systemdeploys a dashboard for users to manage connections and informationsharing with granular options to enable/disable location sharing andemergency call event sharing globally and individually. System allowsusers to make decisions and choose whether and with whom to shareinformation and to change settings based on preferences user canautomatically share location by enabling visitor status, user can stopall sharing, limit sharing, and can manage sharing per eachrelationship.

The system is also interoperable between users such allowing membershipin many communities: The system maintains virtual Communities that aredefined to include users as members, those users who are persistentlyassociated with the Community. Users may be members of any number ofCommunities. Users can manage their relationship with those Communitiesthrough the system. For example, Washington University, Barnes JewishHospital and the City of St Louis each sets up a Community with thesystem and allows citizens to become members. Users may choose to be amember of all, some or none of these Communities. User becomes a memberof all three Communities.

Membership may also be location based as the system maintains virtualCommunities that are defined to include users as visitors, those userswho are joined to the Community through their presence in a geographicarea associated with the Community. Visitor status allows users totransition from one Community to another as the user moves from ageographic area defined by one Community to a geographic area defined byanother Community. Users may be a visitor in multiple Communities whenlocated within a geographic area associated with more than oneCommunity. User may transition from one Community to another by leavinga geographic area associated with one Community and entering ageographic area associated with another Community. As a user moves froma location within Community A to a location in Community B, locationinformation from the user's device is used to remove the user fromCommunity A and include that user in Community B and make the useravailable in Community B.

For example, Washington University, Barnes Jewish Hospital and the Cityof St Louis each sets up a Community with the system that allows forvisitors. All three Communities define the geographic area associatedwith their respective Communities to include the Barnes Hospital campus.Users that enable Visiting have visitor status in all three Communitieswhen they are located on the Barnes Hospital campus. In another examplethe City of Clayton and the City of Ladue share a border. Both citiesset up a Community with the system that allows for visitors and definethe geographic area associated with their respective municipal boundary.These geographic areas do not overlap. A user in Ladue has visitorstatus in Ladue. As the user crosses into Clayton the system removes theuser as a visitor in Ladue and adds the user as a visitor in Clayton.

In the case of a visitor seeking emergency calls or text eventdistribution as long as the system settings align as between theCommunity and the user, the user is not required to take any additionalaction for the emergency calling tools to work when the user is locatedwithin an area defined by a Community. For example Washington Universitysets up a Community with the system that allows for visitors and choosesto receive Emergency Call/Text events when users initiate emergencycalls/texts from defined geographic areas defined within the WashingtonUniversity Community. A user who has no relationship with WashingtonUniversity, but has enabled Visiting and is located on the WashingtonUniversity campus. The user initiates an emergency call/text from withinthe area defined by Washington University. Washington Universityreceives the Emergency Call/Text Event generated by the user's call/textevent. In another example Washington University sets up a Community withthe system that allows for visitors and chooses to receive EmergencyCall/Text events when users initiate emergency calls/texts from definedgeographic areas defined within the Washington University Community. Auser who has no relationship with Washington University, and hasdisabled auto Visiting, initiates an emergency call/text from within thearea defined by Washington University. Washington University does notreceive an Emergency Call/Text Event. In another example WashingtonUniversity sets up a Community with the system and chooses either not toreceive Emergency Call/Text events, or only to receive those events whenusers who are members initiate emergency calls/texts from definedgeographic areas defined within the Washington University Community. Auser who has no relationship with Washington University, and has enabledauto Visiting, initiates an emergency call or text from within the areadefined by Washington University. Washington University does not receivean Emergency Call/Text Event.

Emergency alert distribution based on visitor status, as long as thesystem settings align as between the Community and the user, the user isnot required to take any additional action for the emergency alertingtools to work when the user is located within an area defined by aCommunity. For example Washington University sets up a Community withthe system that allows for visitors and chooses to send emergency alertevents to visitors in defined geographic areas within the WashingtonUniversity Community. A user who has no relationship with WashingtonUniversity, but has enabled Visiting is located on the WashingtonUniversity campus. Washington University initiates an emergency alertsent to users located in defined area. The user receives the emergencyalert. In another example Washington University sets up a Community withthe system that allows for visitors and chooses to send emergency alertevents to visitors in defined geographic areas within the WashingtonUniversity Community. A user who has no relationship with WashingtonUniversity, has disabled Visiting and is located on the WashingtonUniversity campus. Washington University initiates an emergency alertsent to users located in the defined area. The user does not receive theemergency alert. Washington University sets up a Community with thesystem that allows for visitors and chooses to send an emergency alertto members in defined geographic areas within the Washington UniversityCommunity. A user who has no relationship with Washington University,has enabled Visiting and is located on the Washington University campus.Washington University initiates an emergency alert sent only to userswho are also members located in the defined area. The user does notreceive the emergency alert.

Similarly the system is community interoperable where the system isbuilt to allow organizations to share information, access, visibilityand control of their emergency communications. Horizontalinteroperability within the system allows client Communities to shareadministrative level access with other Client Communities. This is doneto facilitate mutual aid partnership information and communication.

Sharing groups are designated segmentation of contact lists thatcorrespond to system users with a shared relationship. Groups can beshared with another Community to allow the recipient organization tocommunicate with the individuals who are included in that group. Forexample the City of Clayton and the City of Ladue both have SpecialWeapons and Tactical (SWAT) units made up of law enforcement officerswith specialized training and equipment. Clayton chooses to share thegroup Clayton SWAT with Ladue. Ladue now has access to the Clayton SWATGroup for communication and GIS integrated location tracking/depictionof Clayton's SWAT on a map. Clayton retains access to all functionalityand control over curation of the Group.

Sharing visibility of emergency events exists as Geofences are graphicrepresentations of a defined geographic area that can be manually orautomatically created within a Community maintained on the system.Geofences can be shared with another organization to allow the recipientorganization to observe emergency events that occur in that location.For example, the City of Clayton and the City of Ladue both havegeofences that define the area(s) where these municipalities want to seean Emergency Call Event when someone calls 911. Clayton chooses to sharegeofences with Ladue for the purpose of allowing Ladue to receiveEmergency Call Events from the Clayton geofence(s). Ladue now has accessto view Emergency Call Events that occur in Clayton. Clayton retainsaccess to all functionality and control over curation of the geofences.

Sharing communication capabilities also exist by location as geofencescan be shared with another organization to allow the recipientorganization to communicate with users who are associated with thatlocation. For example, The City of Clayton and the City of Ladue bothhave defined geofences that define the area(s) where thesemunicipalities can engage in location based communication with usersassociated with the location within the area defined by a geofence.Clayton chooses to share its geofences with Ladue for the purpose ofallowing Ladue to engage in location based communication from theClayton geofence(s). Ladue now has access to engage in location basedcommunication using Clayton geofences. Clayton retains access to allfunctionality and keeps control over curation of the geofences.

Vertical interoperability also exists as credentials are built to allowadministrative access to a Community to be shared “vertically” with aparent Community. This allows any administrator in the parent communityto have administrative rights in the child community to view and manageany function available to the child Community. For example the City ofClayton and the City of Ladue both have system Communities they use tomanage emergency communications. Clayton chooses to share access withLadue for the purpose of allowing Ladue to have access to allfunctionality available to Clayton. Credentialed Ladue administratorsnow have the same rights to use and manage the Clayton Community.

Threat Information may also be distributed by localized feeds whereautomated analysis and distribution of threat information based on crossreferencing the location associated with the threat and the location ofusers and/or Communities. Automated location based on emergency alertdistribution occurs as the system processes communications and parseslocation from the communication. Location determination can be made vialogic analysis or based on template and field communication structure.Location associated with the communication is then compared to locationsfor individuals to automate recipient list build and auto initiatedistribution. For example, NOAA issues a tornado alert that includes adefined geographic area that is threatened by the tornado. The systemcompares the area defined in the tornado warning to all locationsassociated with users and distributes the tornado warning to indicatedusers. The system builds and distributes a report for any Communitiesthat have designated a geographic area of interest that overlaps withthe geographic area indicated in the tornado warning. The reportidentifies users who were associated with locations that are within boththe Community's area and the area designated in the tornado warning.

Manual location-based emergency alert distribution occurs as the systemis designed to consume risk information and turn it into emergencyalerts by parsing location associated with the communication.Communication location is then compared to locations for individuals andalso cross referenced with geographic boundaries associated with anorganization that has an interest in emergency communication. Recipientlist is built automatically based on organization rules from thecoincidence of the organization location, individual locations, and thelocation associated with the communication. An event is shared with theorganization administrators to review/send the alert. For example, NOAAissues a tornado alert that includes a defined geographic area that isthreatened by the tornado. The system compares the area defined in thetornado warning to all locations associated with users to create areport that identifies users who are associated with locations that arewithin both the Community's area and the area designated in the tornadowarning. The system then prepares a report and alert for any indicatedCommunity based on the NOAA alert with a prebuilt recipient list. Thesystem distributes the prepared Community alert and report to selectedsystem administrators for all indicated Communities. Systemadministrators who receive the prepared alert can release the tornadoalert for distribution to included users.

Incident based alerting and automated censes occurs as creating a censusis a standard emergency management process for developing situationalawareness in large scale emergencies. The system is designed tointegrate location and communication services to automate censuscollection and deliver this information in actionable interfaces. Manualcensus is performed as the System manages current location for all usersthrough communication with mobile devices. System also maintains usermanaged location information that captures locations associated withthose users. System administrator uses geofencing tool to define an areafor census generation. System auto generates a report with contactinformation, current locations, home address and work address forindividuals based on cross referencing the area indicated by thegeofence and the locations associated with the individuals. For example,a Community alert is sent by a credentialed Community emergency managerto all member and visitor users warning them of a terror attack inParis. System creates a census of all indicated users that includes lastknown location, contact information and up to date communication detailsin multiple formats. Census reports update in real time and areavailable for view/export. Community emergency manager in Chicagoexports the census report and uses it to field phone calls frominterested parties requesting status of the users who are included inthe census.

Automatic incident censes occurs as the system manages current locationfor all users through communication with mobile devices. Systemmaintains user managed location information that captures locationsassociated with those users. System processes third party informationsource that includes information sufficient to define a geographic areafor census generation. System auto generates a report with contactinformation, current locations, home address and work address forindividuals based on cross referencing the area indicated by thegeofence and the locations associated with the individuals. For example,a Community alert is automatically sent to indicated member and visitorusers warning them of a terror attack in Paris. The alert is generatedby system analysis of a warning generated by the United StatesDepartment of State that includes information defining a geographic areafor the terrorist threat. System creates a census report of allindicated users that are also members and/or visitors of any Communitiesfor the indicated Communities. Census report includes last knownlocation, contact information and up to date communication details inmultiple formats. Census reports update in real time and are availablefor view/export. Community emergency manager in Chicago exports thecensus report and uses it to field phone calls from interested partiesrequesting status of the users who are included in the census.

The system has location integrated mass communication as the systemintegrates location services into many to many and many to onecommunications. System maintains a current location for users bycommunicating with mobile devices. When a user sends a communicationinto the system, this communication is displayed with latitude andlongitude and address for the user's last known location at the time thecommunication is sent. Communication is also graphically placed on a GISmap. For example, a Community alert is sent to 85 student study abroadusers warning them of a terror attack in Paris. The system attempts tocapture a current location from the mobile devices for all recipients ofthe terror alert. As the students respond to the alert, the systemassociates the last known location for each user with their response andintegrates these into the emergency communication by showing an address,latitude and longitude as text with messages, and graphically in a GISmapping tool.

The system also uses multi-channel threading and telephonenumber-rotation as legacy mass notification systems send out mass text,email and automated calling using single numbers where possible. This isincompatible with the work-flow for mass emergency communicationdesigned for two-way exchange of information. This is because it is notpossible to track a response to the query the response is associatedwith where more than one query has been sent to the recipient/responderover a single number. SirenGPS system solves this problem by maintainingcommunication access over multiple numbers and tracking the numbers usedfor communication with any given individual. The system maintains arelationship between outbound query and associates relevant responses tothe appropriate query. For example, A series of three Community alertsare sent to 85 student study abroad users warning them of a terrorattack in Paris. The first alert provides an initial warning sharinginformation provided by the United States Department of State indicatinga terror threat. This first alert requests a status from each recipient.A second alert is sent 3 minutes later transmitting an image of asuspected terrorist and a request from local authorities forinformation. The third alert, sent half an hour after the initial alert,provides an all clear and reiterates the request from local authorities.The students respond with their status with a median response time of2.5 minutes and an average response time of 13 minutes. Approximatelyhalf of the status responses are received before the second alert issent. Three status responses are sent after the third alert is sent. Sixhours after the initial alert is sent, one of the students sees anindividual matching the image that was sent in the second alert. Thatstudent responds to the second alert with information about thesuspected terrorist. The system manages the use of telephone numbers forsending text messages so that none of the alerts are sent to the sameuser using the same telephone number. All of the responses from studentsproviding their status are associated with the first alert request fortheir status. The response from the student providing information aboutthe suspected terrorist is associated with the alert requesting thatinformation.

The system also provides tactical benefits such as multi-device mapbased location display where the system simultaneously tracks unlimitednumber of mobile devices into a GIS mapping tool to provide a real-timegraphic depiction of location, movement and relative position of usersparticipating in a communication event. System maintains a last knownlocation for all users indicated by extracting location from allindicated mobile devices. For example, The City Citizen Patrol Groupdeploys the service to provide communications for citizens who work withthe city to provide “eyes on the street”. A tactical exercise isinitiated, sending multi-modal communication to members of the NorthPatrol Group, requesting participation in a group communication. Membersof the North Patrol Group receive the communication and elevenindividuals who are currently on a working shift accept the invitation.The System begins tracking all eleven participating citizen patrol usersby depicting them in a map with a representation that identifies theindividual and displays last know location with a pin drop for eachindividual. The map updates, with pin drops moving to track the movementof the participating citizen patrol participants as they perform theirpatrols.

Dynamic tracking is used where the system maintains a current locationfor all selected users by simultaneously communicating with allindicated mobile devices. Current location information updates infrequency based on speed of each individual user. When a user moves morequickly, the system updates that user's location at shorter intervals tomaintain an accurate location. The system extracts speed from the mobiledevice where available and also calculates speed based on comparison oflocations in sequence. Location update communications between mobiledevices and the service are performed at a frequency based on the speedeach individual user is moving. For example, the City Citizen PatrolGroup deploys the service to provide communications for citizens whowork with the city to provide “eyes on the street”. Some members of thecitizen patrol walk through the park during their shift. One member ofthe citizen patrol Group drives around the perimeter of the park in avehicle. The rate of communication between the mobile device and the webservices is faster for the citizen patrol member who is in a vehiclethan it is for members who are walking through the park

Multi-modal many-to-many location integrated communications are providedas multi-modal communications shared with unlimited number of devices inparallel with integrated location tracking services. For example, theCity Citizen Patrol Group deploys the service to provide communicationsfor citizens who work with the city to provide “eyes on the street”.When a tactical communication event is initiated, all of the citizenpatrol members indicated receive an invitation to participate in thecommunication event. Communications from all participating members sentover the service are shared with all of the other participating members.Each communication includes location information that shows where themember sending the message is located.

Filter selection is automated based on criteria where cross referenceand filter for capabilities and location to search for nearest desiredasset. For example, the City deploys the service to providecommunications for first responders who provide law enforcement servicesfor the City. A tactical communication event is currently running thatincludes law enforcement first responders. An Emergency Call eventoccurs that requests law enforcement services. The Emergency Call eventindicates that the caller's primary language is Spanish. A request issubmitted for the system to filter the current tactical communicationevent for participating first responders who have Spanish languageproficiency indicated as part of their capabilities. The systemhighlights pin-drops to display the location for law enforcementofficers with Spanish language proficiency in proximity to the locationof the Emergency Call event.

Automated initiation of tactical communications are also provided byCombining the capability to auto generate participants based onlocation, capabilities and role, the system automatically initiates manyto many location integrated communications in response to a triggerevent. For example, the City deploys the service to providecommunications for first responders who provide law enforcement servicesfor the City. An Emergency Call event occurs that requests lawenforcement services. The Emergency Call event indicates that thecaller's primary language is Spanish. The system builds a recipient listof law enforcement first responders with Spanish language proficiencyand initiates a tactical communication exercise. The tacticalcommunication exercise starts by automatically sending a multimodalcommunication requesting participation. Five first responders withSpanish language proficiency respond to the request and are available.The system displays each of the five responding first responders in amap and highlights the pin-drops for these law enforcement officers. Thehighlighted pin-drops display the location for law enforcement officerswith Spanish language proficiency in proximity to the location of theEmergency Call event.

All elements claimed in any particular claim are essential to theembodiment claimed in that particular claim. Consequently, replacementof one or more claimed elements constitutes reconstruction and notrepair. Additionally, benefits, other advantages, and solutions toproblems have been described with regard to specific embodiments. Thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element or elementsthat may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or becomemore pronounced, however, are not to be construed as critical, required,or essential features or elements of any or all of the claims, unlesssuch benefits, advantages, solutions, or elements are stated in suchclaim. Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are notdedicated to the public under the doctrine of dedication if theembodiments and/or limitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in theclaims; and (2) are or are potentially equivalents of express elementsand/or limitations in the claims under the doctrine of equivalents. Theembodiments were chosen and described to best explain the principles ofthe invention and its practical application to persons who are skilledin the art. As various modifications could be made to the exemplaryembodiments, as described above with reference to the correspondingillustrations, without departing from the scope of the invention, it isintended that all matter contained in the foregoing description andshown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrativerather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the presentinvention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims appended hereto and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for automatically coordinating emergencyresponders using an emergency response computer system in operativecommunication with mobile computing devices for a set of device users,the method comprising: storing in a database of the emergency responsecomputer system a plurality of geographic zones; correlating in thedatabase a plurality of emergency groups having responsibility for thegeographic zones, wherein each of the emergency groups is comprised ofsets of emergency response units; storing in the database a history oflocation information for each one of the mobile communication devices inthe set of devices users, wherein the history of location informationincludes a latest device location and a set of historical locations fora set of defined historical time intervals; periodically updating thedatabase with the latest device locations for the mobile computingdevices and setting the latest device location as a current location foreach respective one of the mobile communication devices in the set ofdevice users; receiving through a communications module in the emergencyresponse computer system at a current time a mass emergency message foran emergency, wherein the emergency is associated with a geographic areaand an event time in the mass emergency message, wherein the event timeprecedes the current time; determining in a computer processor of theemergency response computer system a first set of the geographic zonesoverlapping with the geographic area; determining in a computerprocessor of the emergency response computer system a set of devicelocations for a subset of mobile computing devices having operatedwithin the geographic area during a predefined time period, wherein thepredefined time period encompasses the event time and a period of timesubsequent to the event time, wherein the computer processor queries thehistory of location information in the database for the mobile computingdevices having at least one of the current location in the geographicarea during the predefined time period or one of the historicallocations in the geographic at one of the defined historical timeintervals corresponding with the predefined time period; producing bythe computer processor a report with the set of device locations;communicating the report through the communications module to a systemuser; communicating an emergency notice through the communicationsmodule the subset of mobile computing devices, wherein the emergencynotice is associated with a first phone number; providing two-waycommunications between the subset of the mobile computing devices andthe communications module in the emergency response computer system,wherein the two-way communications has a multi-channel threading withresponses from the subset of computing devices back to the emergencynotice are linked with the first phone number; and communicating asubsequent message to the subset of mobile communicating devices afterthe emergency notice with a status update, wherein the subsequentmessage is associated with a second phone number, and wherein responsesfrom the subset of computing devices back to the subsequent message arelinked with the second phone number in the multi-channel threading. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of defining the geographic areais comprised of at least one of the steps of calculating a predetermineddistance around a geospatial location for the emergency, receivingthrough the communications module a predetermined area from anauthorized third party source, retrieving from the database a predefinedzone or campus from an administrator, and receiving through a graphicalinterface of the emergency response computer system an ad hoc selectedregion.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining theset of device locations for the subset of mobile computing devices isfurther comprised of the steps of: initiating a census of any mobilecomputing devices operating in at least one of the first set of thegeographic zones and the geographic area at the current time when themass emergency message is received by the communications module in theemergency response computer system; receiving a census record withcurrently operating mobile computing devices and the current locationfor each one of the currently operating mobile computing devices; andadding the census record to the subset of mobile computing deviceshaving operated within the geographic area during the predefined timeperiod.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step ofrequesting in the emergency notice at least one of a status update andan incident report from the subset of mobile computing devices.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: initiating aplurality of census inquiries of any mobile computing devices beingwithin, having entered, or having departed at least one of the first setof the geographic zones and the geographic area at a sequence of timesfollowing the current time when the mass emergency message is receivedby the communications module; and repeating the determining step, theproducing step, and the communication step for each one of the censusinquiries, wherein an updated set of device locations results from eachrepeated determining step, an updated reported results from eachrepeated producing step, and the updated report is communicated to thesystem user for each repeated communication step.
 6. The method of claim1, further comprising the step of communicating an emergency warningthrough the communications module to the subset of mobile computingdevices, wherein the step of producing the report is further comprisedof providing sets of user profile information with the set of devicelocations, and wherein the user profile information in the reportincludes a name and a phone number for each one of the device users andtheir corresponding mobile computing devices, respectively.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: storing in thedatabase a set of first level of emergency response units and a set ofsecond level of emergency response units for at least one of theemergency groups; identifying in the computer processor a set ofemergency response units having responsibility for the first set ofgeographic zones within at least a portion of the geographic area;correlating further in the database a first set of emergenciesassociated with the first level of emergency response units, a secondset of emergencies associated with the second level of emergencyresponse units, and a third set of emergencies associated with the firstlevel of emergency response units and the second level of emergencyresponse units, wherein the first level of emergency response units andthe second level of emergency response units each have geographic zonescovering at least a portion of the geographic area; determining in thecomputer processor that the mass emergency message is from an authorizedthird party source and a content of the mass emergency message is amatch to one of the first set of emergencies, the second set ofemergencies, and the third set of emergencies; and identifying by thecomputer processor the set of emergency response units to receive thereport according to the determined match.
 8. A method for automaticallycoordinating emergency responders using an emergency response computersystem in operative communication with mobile computing devices for aset of device users, the method comprising: storing in a database of theemergency response computer system a set of first level of emergencyresponse units and a set of second level of emergency response units fora first geographic area; correlating in the database a set of emergencyconditions with the first level of emergency response units and thesecond level of emergency response units, wherein the emergencyconditions are comprised of a set of predetermined trigger words in theemergency messages, a predetermined distance between locationsassociated with the emergency messages, and a predetermined frequency ofemergency trigger messages set as a trigger limit between the firstlevel of emergency response units and the second level of emergencyresponse units; receiving through a communications module in theemergency response computer system a number of emergency triggermessages during a period of time, wherein each one of the emergencytrigger messages comprises an emergency message content and a mobilecomputing device location; defining in the emergency response computersystem a message time for each of the received emergency triggermessages; determining in a processor of the emergency response computersystem at each message time an event frequency from the receivedemergency trigger messages which have matches between the set ofpredetermined trigger words and the emergency message content in theemergency trigger messages and which also have distances between themobile computing device locations within the predetermined distance;identifying in the processor only the first level of emergency responseunits when the event frequency is less than the predetermined frequencyfor the trigger limit; identifying in the processor both the first levelof emergency response units and the second level of emergency responseunits when the event frequency is greater than the predeterminedfrequency for the trigger limit; correlating in the database a set ofvideo cameras according to a corresponding set of footprint viewlocations within the first geographic area, wherein the video camerashave live video feeds available to the emergency response computersystem through a distributed communications network; determining in thecomputer processor a subset of the video cameras with footprint viewlocations proximate to the mobile computing device locations; andrelaying through the emergency response computer system the live videofeeds to at least the set of first level of emergency response units. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein a first administrator is assigned to theset of first level of emergency response units for the first geographicarea in the emergency response computer system, wherein a secondadministrator is assigned to the set of second level of emergencyresponse units for a second geographic area in the emergency responsecomputer system, wherein the first administrator has authorization inthe emergency response computer system to assign the set of first levelof emergency response units to a second level response for the secondgeographic area, and wherein the set of second level of emergencyresponse units for the first geographic area are assigned a first levelresponse for the second geographic area by the second administrator. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein the first geographic area is adjacent tothe second geographic area, wherein only the first administrator isnotified when the event frequency is less than the predeterminedfrequency for the trigger limit, and wherein both the firstadministrator and the second administrator are notified when the eventfrequency is greater than the predetermined frequency for the triggerlimit.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of first level ofemergency response units for the first geographic area is selected fromunits of a local police department, and wherein the set of second levelof emergency response units for the first geographic area is selectedfrom units of at least one of county-level units and state-level units.12. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of: correlatingin the database a set of authorized third party sources for massemergency messages corresponding to mass events; determining in thecomputer processor an emergency trigger message is received from atleast one of the authorized third party sources and has a mass emergencymessage for a mass event associated with the first geographic area andthe second geographic area; identifying in the computer processor boththe set of first level of emergency response units and the set of secondlevel of emergency response units as the responsible set of emergencyresponse units for the mass event; determining in the computer processora set of device locations for a subset of mobile computing deviceshaving operated within the first geographic area and the secondgeographic area during a predefined time period; producing by thecomputer processor a report with the set of device locations;communicating the report through the communications module to theresponsible set of emergency response units; and communicating anemergency warning for the emergency event through the communicationsmodule to the set of mobile computing devices.
 13. The method of claim12, wherein the report is further comprised of instructionscorresponding to the emergency warning for the emergency event and setsof user profile information with the set of device locations, whereinthe user profile information in the report includes a name and a phonenumber for each one of the device users and their corresponding mobilecomputing devices, respectively, wherein the report sent to the set offirst level of emergency response units is prioritized to identifydevice users with mobile computing device locations within the firstgeographic area, and wherein the report sent to the set of second levelof emergency response units is prioritized to identify device users withmobile computing device locations within the second geographic area. 14.The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of correlating inthe database a set of external electronic monitoring systems for anintegrated system providing a feed of sensor information, wherein theauthorized third party sources are comprised of the U.S. FederalEmergency Management Agency, the U.S. State Department, the U.S.Geological Survey, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and wherein the external electronicmonitoring systems are comprised of at least one of a fire alarm,traffic sensors, motion sensors, heat sensors, air quality sensors,water quality sensors, radiation sensors, and moisture sensors.
 15. Amethod for automatically coordinating emergency responders using anemergency response computer system in operative communication withmobile computing devices for a set of device users, the methodcomprising: storing in a database of the emergency response computersystem a plurality of geographic areas and a plurality of emergencygroups having responsibility for the geographic areas, wherein each ofthe emergency groups is comprised of sets of emergency response units,and wherein each of the geographic areas has a plurality of geographiczones; correlating in the database a set of video cameras according to acorresponding set of footprint fields of view within the geographicareas, wherein the video cameras have live video feeds available to theemergency response computer system through a distributed communicationsnetwork; receiving through a communications module in the emergencyresponse computer system an emergency trigger message, wherein theemergency trigger message comprises an emergency message content and amobile computing device location; determining in a processor of theemergency response computer system at least one of the video cameraswith a footprint field of view proximate to the mobile computing devicelocation; displaying on a graphical interface of the emergency responsecomputer for a system user the live video feed with the mobile computingdevice location; correlating in the database a set of emergencyconditions with a first level of emergency response units and a secondlevel of emergency response units, wherein the emergency conditions arecomprised of a set of predetermined trigger words in the emergencymessages, a predetermined distance between locations associated with theemergency messages, and a predetermined frequency of emergency triggermessages set as a trigger limit between the first level of emergencyresponse units and the second level of emergency response units;receiving through the communications module a number of emergencytrigger messages during a period of time, wherein each one of theemergency trigger messages comprises an emergency message content and amobile computing device location; defining in the emergency responsecomputer system a message time for each of the received emergencytrigger messages; determining in the processor at each message time anevent frequency from the received emergency trigger messages which havematches between the set of predetermined trigger words and the emergencymessage content in the emergency trigger messages and which also havedistances between the mobile computing device locations within thepredetermined distance; relaying the live video feed to only the firstlevel of emergency response units when the event frequency is less thanthe predetermined frequency for the trigger limit; and relaying the livevideo feed to both the first level of emergency response units and thesecond level of emergency response units when the event frequency isgreater than the predetermined frequency for the trigger limit.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: determining in theprocessor at least one of the emergency response units in a geographiczone according to the message content which encompasses the mobilecomputing device location; relaying through the emergency responsecomputer system the live video feed with the mobile computing devicelocation to the at least one of the emergency response units in thegeographic zone; receiving in the computer processor from the systemuser through the graphical interface an ad hoc geographic region; anddetermining in the computer processor a corresponding subset of videocameras with footprint fields of view within the ad hoc geographicregion.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:correlating in the database a subset of geo-fenced video cameras withremote control by the emergency response computer system through thedistributed communications network; and controlling at least one of thegeo-fenced video cameras by the emergency response computer system withcontrol.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:correlating in the database sets of emergency terms with the emergencygroups, wherein the emergency groups are comprised of a policedepartment, a fire department, and an emergency medical service, whereina first set of emergency terms corresponds to the police department,wherein a second set of emergency terms corresponds to the firedepartment, and wherein a third set of emergency terms corresponds tothe emergency medical service; and comparing the emergency messagecontent in the computer processor with the sets of emergency terms inthe database to identify at least one of the corresponding emergencygroups associated with the emergency trigger message.
 19. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the step of sending in at least one of theemergency notice and the subsequent message at least one of an all clearmessage, a terrorist alert, and an evacuation order to the subset ofmobile communicating devices, wherein the all clear message is sent tothe subset of mobile communicating devices for a set of students in astudy abroad program, wherein the terrorist alert is sent to the subsetof mobile communication devices for anyone in the geographic areaassociated with a terrorist attack and requests information on asuspected terrorist, and wherein the evacuation order is directed to thesubset of mobile communicating devices in the geographic area associatedwith dangerous weather and includes information on an evacuation plan.20. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: correlatingin the database a set of video cameras according to a corresponding setof footprint view locations within the geographic area, wherein thevideo cameras have live video feeds available to the emergency responsecomputer system through a distributed communications network;determining in the computer processor a subset of the video cameras withfootprint view locations proximate to the mobile computing devicelocations; and relaying through the emergency response computer systemthe live video feeds to at least the set of first level of emergencyresponse units.